Replacement Moon
by Probit Return
Summary: When a new enemy surprises the Senshi, Usagi sacrifices herself to save them. Trapped in a coma and unable to communicate with her friends, she reaches out for help in fighting this new evil. She finds it in an unlikely place, a rough martial artist with an impressive resume and a curse that makes him half girl. Not quite what she was expecting from her ace...
1. Part I: Replacement

_Author's Note:_ Well here we are. My first posted work in... _years_... The irony is, despite fundamentally altering my writing process in that time, this story was written and is being posted very much spur of the moment. The only reason I'm starting to put this up now is because it shouldn't be too long of a story, so I think I should be able to finish it soon enough, hopefully before November when other writing obligations take over for the month, though I honestly have my doubts. We'll see I guess. I'm expecting between four and six "parts". The first two are done, second part still needs to be edited, with some of the third part started, but it's rough at the moment. I don't really have an estimation for when it'll be completed, but I'm thinking next chapter will be posted sometime next week.

**_Disclaimer_**: I don't own Ranma 1/2 or Sailor Moon. I'm only going to say this once, so this one disclaimer should cover the entire story. A blanket disclaimer if you will. I also don't own anything else that may pop up, because I'm apparently incapable of writing a single two story crossover without crossing with damn near everything else.

* * *

"Hello."

Ranma Saotome opened her eyes to reveal what looked like a large, crystalline ballroom. It was an impressive structure, bigger than anything she could remember, filled with a warm, relaxing glow from the lights above, and she started to get lost in the sights. Then her eyes landed on a young woman about her own age, wearing a magnificent white gown. Her long, bright blonde hair was done up with two buns atop her head, with the rest of her hair flowing down in a pair of streamers that nearly touched the floor. It took her a moment to realize she was severely underdressed in what she'd gone to bed in, a black tanktop that strained against her breasts and a pair of shorts.

"Where am I?" the martial artist asked the girl, who may as well have been a princess, seemingly the only other person around in the overly large room.

"This is the main ballroom of the Moon Palace. But I think this is actually a dream," the girl admitted sheepishly before her smile disappeared for a much more pensive expression. "There's no way this could actually be happening..."

Ranma shrugged and scratched at her bright red hair. "Eh, I've seen weirder. So is this your dream, or mine?"

"Dunno. I'm not very good at this whole metapsychological stuff." She paused, cocking her head to the side. "Yeah, I think that's the right word, maybe. I think I heard Ami use it once. Whatever. I'm not even sure why I'm in my Princess Serenity dress without actually taking on that form. If I had to guess, I'd say I'm supplying the location, but this is a shared dream. I don't think I've ever met you before, but the Silver Crystal is telling me that you're the best choice."

Ranma started to walk around the ballroom casually. "Well I'm Ranma Saotome. Sorry 'bout how I look. Pop musta left the window open."

The girl seemed confused by her statement for a moment, but she shrugged it off as inconsequential. "That's okay. I'm Usagi Tsukino, reincarnation of Princess Serenity and the pretty suited soldier Sailor Moon. I kinda need your help..." She was reluctant to admit it, but she pushed forward anyway.

Ranma froze up. "You're Sailor Moon?"

"You've heard of me?" Usagi seemed oddly ecstatic by this.

She turned away from the suddenly bubbly blonde slowly. "Er, kinda. Akane's a big fan a yers."

A bright smile blossomed on the reincarnated princess's face. Despite being in heels, she was quick to be by Ranma's side, grasping her hands gently. "That's great! Maybe after this is done, I can see about signing some things for her with the others. I'm sure your friend would love that!"

"Uhh... yeah, I guess. Not sure I wanna tell her I met you in my dream."

"Oh come on, as long as you don't mention my name, it should be fine."

Ranma stared at her blankly. "She's my fiancée and she tends ta get jealous."

"Ooh, how cute! I have a couple of friends in that sort of relationship."

"Our fathers set it up!" she shouted instinctively before settling down with a grumpy frown. It actually looked more like a pout with her feminine face. "They keep tryin' ta push us together no matter what we say or think."

Usagi stood motionless as she processed what the redhead had said. "But why would... arrange... two girls... You know what, it's not important right now. I really need your help. This afternoon, an enemy attacked. We thought it would be a cakewalk, but it was a trap. I'm not entirely sure what happened, but I think I'm in a coma."

"I ain't gotta kiss ya, do I? Akane'd clobber me good, even if it's for a good cause."

"What, no!" Usagi shouted, her face bright red. "I need you to take my transformation brooch and take my place as Sailor Moon until I wake up! Please Ranma! I don't know why, but I think you're the only one who can help the others while I'm away!" She had a desperate, pleading look in her eyes.

Pained though she was from the look, Ranma's blank face returned. "But I'm a guy. Aren't magical girls supposed to be... girls?"

"Well you look like a girl to me."

"I toldja," an exasperated Ranma sighed, "Pop left the window open. It rained and my curse activated. Normally, I'm a guy."

Usagi moaned in confusion and shook her head, causing the streams of golden hair to bounce around chaotically. "But why would it choose a guy? And if you're a guy, why do you turn into a girl? Things used to be so simple!" she whined. Ranma had to wonder how being a costumed hero fighting with magic against whatever great evil was threatening the world was simple, but then she realized she had no right to judge.

"Yeah, still not the weirdest thing to happen to me," the redhead quipped, counting off on her fingers the times that were, in fact, weirder in her mind. Hell, she was already assuming this would involve her curse getting locked somehow. That would be par for the course as far as she was concerned.

With a whimper, Usagi finally just accepted the situation and held out a glittering heart shaped brooch. It was mostly pink, with bits of gold and various colored gemstones attached to it. "I'm not sure how long we have before you wake up. I don't have much of a sense of time in here. Just take my brooch. If you raise it to the sky and call out the transformation phrase, you should become Sailor Moon instead of me. I'm not sure if it'll really work, but _something_ tells me it will."

Ranma reluctantly took the brooch from her and looked it over. "Man, does it have to be so girly? I get caught with somethin' like this and I'm never gonna live it down." She slipped it into her pocket with a sigh. "It's a martial artist's duty to help the weak, so I guess I'll take your place for a bit. What do I gotta say ta make this thing work?"

Usagi's face lit up with a bright smile. "I can tell you're a very pure, honest person. You won't regret this! Just call out 'Moon Cosmic Power, Make Up' and you should transform. I don't think you'll have access to my Super or Eternal forms, but we can discuss this later. As for attacks... Moon Tiara Action would work, I'm sure. It was the very first one I used when I first became Sailor Moon. Just grab your tiara and charge it with magic, then throw it."

"Moon Cosmic Power, Make Up. Moon Tiara Action. Got it."

"Thank you Ranma. I don't know if I'll ever be able to repay you for this, but I'll sure try. Starting with some ice cream."

* * *

Replacement Moon

Part I

An ice cold bucket of water to the face brought Ranma out of her sleep. As she spit the water out of her mouth and shook it out of her braid, she looked up to see Akane standing over her with an empty bucket. She hopped to her feet before Akane could toss a possible second volley of water. "What was that for?!"

"Kasumi wanted me to wake you up for breakfast. You were already a girl." The muscular blue haired Tendo school heir and Ranma's number one fiancée shrugged. "I figured it wouldn't matter. Besides, you shouldn't be sleeping in just because it's Golden Week." There was a look in her eyes that told her not to argue. It would only cause trouble.

Unfortunately, Ranma didn't heed the advice her brain was telling her. "Well ya coulda woken me up like a normal person instead of takin' lessons from Pop."

Her jaw rattled from the uppercut to the chin she frankly should have seen coming. Akane stormed off in a huff, her parting words simply being, "Fine! See if I help you out next time!"

Sitting on the ground, Ranma cradled her chin and rubbed it gently. _Damn, she hits like a truck._ Slowly, she picked herself up and started to stretch. It didn't take long before she felt a strange weight in her pocket. Worried that Happosai might have stuffed some weird, magical doodad on her again, she reached in to remove it, and promptly gasped when she realized what it was.

"No way," she whispered to herself as she stared at the brooch Usagi had given her in her dream. She should have expected the dream to be real. After all, it wasn't the weirdest thing she'd ever been through, but she couldn't comprehend the idea that Sailor Moon herself would tell her her secret identity and ask for her help. Not to mention she really didn't want to dress up in such an embarrassing costume to fight the forces of evil, but she'd given Usagi her word.

A quick trip to the furo and she was once again comfortably male. He was taller and more muscular in his male form, trading a bit of his speed for more strength. He'd come to see that each form had its particular uses, but his birth form was, and would always be his favored one.

After getting dressed, he slipped the brooch into his pocket and raced down the stairs. "Where are you going?!" Akane asked him in bewilderment as he headed for the door.

"Got someplace to be," he replied quickly, hoping to get out before Nabiki started to assemble a way to follow him, which she'd be working on almost immediately.

"But what about breakfast?"

"I'll pick somethin' up on the way. See ya!" He closed the door behind him and raced away along the rooftops. He was gone before anyone could say otherwise.

* * *

Rei Hino sighed long and hard as she hung up the phone. "Mamoru still isn't answering. I don't know what to do."

"We'll keep trying," Makoto assured her. "It would be so much easier if he had an answering machine. Or if he were still in the country for that matter. But I'm sure we'll get through to him eventually."

The four Guardian Senshi were sitting around a table at Rei's home at the Hikawa Shrine. Tensions were high as they tried to come to terms with the fact that Usagi had been hurt during the fight. It had been their duty to protect her, and they'd failed. It didn't help that she'd thrown herself in front of an attack meant for them. It was only thanks to the Outers that they'd escaped with their lives, and the life of their princess. Thanks to them, they took out not only the monsters, but the woman leading them, the same woman that had injured Usagi with her powerful magic attack. None of them bought for one second that their newest problem was taken care of with that.

Minako turned to the brainiac of the group, twirling her blonde hair around a finger absently. "Do you think she'll be okay Ami?"

"I don't know..." she answered. "We couldn't tell Mom what actually happened, so I don't know how much help the doctors will be. All I know is that she's in a coma, and I don't know when, or even if she'll wake up. The Mercury Computer indicated that she seems to be using her magic to heal slowly, but... I don't know why."

"But if it says she's healing, she should be fine, right?"

"I don't know. Her magic is... out of sync or something. That attack really messed her up, and not just physically. I have no idea what's going on."

The girls furrowed their brows and sighed. Things were supposed to be simple, and yet, one battle had turned their lives on their heads. Somehow, they would have to face this newest enemy without their princess. They just weren't sure if they could.

* * *

Like a dog, Ranma shook the water from her hair. She should have known by now that the wet stuff came from anywhere and everywhere just to take aim at her. This time, she let any irritation that came with the inconvenience go and accepted that, for now, her girl form was probably more acceptable. According to what she'd picked up from that nerdy kid who doused her, this was the right place.

She opened the door to the lobby and shuffled in, doing her best to appear worried. She walked up to the hospital's front desk with her head hung low, a few tears in the corners of her eyes, and a sniffle of sadness that broke the hearts of the staff. "Um, I heard my friend was here, and I was wondering if I could visit her... Her name is Usagi Tsukino."

The nurse on staff did a quick search. "Yes, she's been admitted here. Visiting hours don't start for another half hour, but..." the nurse smiled warmly, "since you seem like you really want to see her, and it looks like you've been through a lot to visit, I can make an exception." She gave her the room number and explained the girl's condition as they knew it. Ranma thanked her and shuffled out of sight toward the room after signing in with a fake name.

Once she was out of sight, she dropped all pretenses and found the room as quickly as she could. Really, it was too easy for her to play people to her advantage in girl form. She found Usagi inside, hooked up to a multitude of machines she could only guess as to what they did. She was a mess, but even with her iconic hair let down, she was obviously the same girl she'd seen in her dream the night before. "Geez Usagi, ya look like crap."

Obviously, the blonde did not reply, though she could have sworn she heard a pouty retort somewhere in the back of her mind. That was okay though. She didn't need to hear her reply to fully confirm what had happened during her dream. She paced around the room for a moment. There was very little she could do to help Usagi recover quicker. Maybe if she had another dream, she'd see about sending Tofu to check things out. Kasumi had said he'd set up a clinic somewhere in Minato.

"I know I said this last night in the dream, but I'll do what I can ta help yer friends. It's the least I could do after ya came ta me for help." It was awkward, talking to someone who might not be able to hear her and unable to reply. "I still ain't too sure about this whole dress up thing, but if I gotta..."

She pulled the brooch out of her pocket and stared at it, deciding right then and there that even in her current condition, the transformation item fit Usagi much better than it did herself. _Too bad it ain't like a dagger or somethin'._ She slipped it back into her pocket and resumed her pacing. "Just one thing Usagi. I ain't too sure how I'm supposed ta know they need my help."

As if in response, a large cloud of smoke billowed up from a street nearby, announcing in concert with the dull throb in her head that something was going down. With a sigh, Ranma gripped the brooch. "Well that's one way..." She walked over to the window and slid it open. "We'll talk more tonight I guess, maybe."

With one last look at the bedridden blonde, Ranma leapt out the window and raised the brooch. "Moon Cosmic Power, Make Up!"

* * *

"The Outers are on their way!" Mercury called out to the others. "Mercury Aqua Rhapsody!" The blast of water generated by her harp slammed into her target, but the creature was tough, unlike anything they'd seen prior to the day before. The creatures were tall and bulky, but surprisingly quick. Their skin was mostly a sick orangey yellow, while their arms and legs were lean and powerful, tipped with wicked claws that were made to tear things apart. Their faces were almost animalistic, with a short snout and beady eyes that reflected their primal instincts. Despite that, they were frighteningly intelligent.

They took their attacks like minor annoyances and shrugged them off before responding in kind with attacks of their own. At best, their attacks stunned them. Putting down just one took a lot of work. They were currently outnumbered against five of these things, and that was after managing to take one out already.

Mercury hit the deck as a wave of heat came her way, barely avoiding the attack. She scrambled to her feet to avoid giving the enemy a chance to capitalize on her downed state. The last thing she wanted was to join Moon in the hospital. She'd been paired up with Jupiter, hoping that her lightning would be a great pair with her own water and ice, but so far, the mystery creatures hadn't really given them a chance to let the combo loose. A quick glance at Mars and Venus told her that they weren't fairing any better.

Another heat wave slammed into Jupiter, throwing her into the Senshi of Ice and knocking the breath from her lungs. Mercury gasped for air as Jupiter struggled to stand. The creature loomed over both of them with what looked like a sickening grin on its maw. It raised its sharp claws and prepared to strike.

A blur of blue and red streaked in through the air and landed on the creature's head. The mysterious figure found a grip on the thing and used its momentum to launch the creature into the sky. With the creature helplessly airborne, the figure took advantage. "Moko Takabisha Revision: Moonlight Fang!"

A bluish white orb flew from the figure's hands and slammed into the creature as it sailed through the air, detonating on impact in an explosion. The creature landed some ways away, dazed from the assault and struggling to stand. "You girls okay?" the figure, now identified as a redheaded girl with her hair in a braid asked them. Strangely, she was wearing a blue fuku with a pair of red bows and red boots. Affixed to the front bow was a familiar heart shaped brooch. She looked like a well done Sailor Moon cosplay, complete with gloves trimmed in red, a red choker with a crescent moon on it, and a golden tiara on her forehead.

"It's dangerous here," Jupiter said urgently as she climbed to her feet. "You need to get out of here."

The girl snorted in amusement. "It ain't me ya gotta worry about." And then she shot off like a bullet toward the nearest creature. She moved so fast, they were having trouble keeping track of the way she moved.

The creatures weren't prepared for a full on assault from this new girl. Systematically, she tore into them with expert precision. She danced between three of them, throwing punches and kicks at them while they wildly tried to claw her. One managed to tag her, but she ignored the wound and pressed on.

"Jupiter, whoever that girl is, help her out," Venus ordered. "Mercury, help me and Mars take on the remaining two while the others are distracted."

Mercury nodded and snapped off a quick Shine Aqua Illusion at one of them while Mars blasted the other with a Burning Mandala, using their quicker attacks to keep them on their toes.

"Moon Tiara Action!" Mars, Mercury, and Jupiter all froze at the call of the attack. The redhead grasped the tiara on her head and quickly threw the golden disc at one of the creatures. It ripped through the creature's midsection with little effort and returned to her in one smooth motion. It remained in her hand for barely a second before she launched the attack at another of the creatures. It too bit the dust. She was about to throw it at the third one when she was slammed hard by a heat wave.

The girl went tumbling ass over head away from the battle until she came to a stop upside down with her short skirt around her waist. "Stupid skirt and heels..." she grumbled under her breath before hopping back to her feet.

The sight of the mystery girl being hit by the attack was enough to snap Jupiter out of her daze. The wreath of oak leaves on her head gave off a green glow as she called upon its power. "Jupiter Oak Evolution!" Between the damage already inflicted by the Senshi and the redhead, the powerful blast of magic was enough to destroy the creature.

Not suffering from the same shock as the others, Venus was already on one of the remaining two creatures. She grabbed at the chain around her waist and flicked it out. "Venus Love and Beauty Shock!" The chain whipped out at lightning speeds, covered in electricity as she slammed it into the creature. With a quick flick of her wrist, she reversed course and scored another hit. "Don't just stand there guys! Help me out!"

"Burning Mandala!"

"Shine Aqua Illusion!

"Kijin Raishuu Dan!"

The blasts of fire and water were enough to weaken it for the vacuum blades to rip the creature apart. The redhead Moon cosplayer dashed for the last one, the one she'd originally blasted with her revised Moko Takabisha, but her assault was cut off as a series of attacks slammed into final creature, destroying it with little effort. She skidded to a stop and turned her attention to the three newcomers, each wearing a personalized fuku befitting their position as defenders of Earth.

"Sorry we're late," the blonde said. Her eyes remained on the redhead, and she tightened her grip on her sword instinctively.

"Uranus, Neptune, Pluto! You made it!"

Neptune nodded. Like her partner, her gaze was fixed on the girl in the Sailor Moon garb. "No one seems seriously hurt. That's good. Who is this?"

All attention was turned to the redhead as she scratched at the base of her braid nervously. Mars seemed to take charge as she walked up to her, her fierce stare burning like the fires she commanded. "That's what I want to know. Who are you, why are you sticking your nose in our fights, and why are you dressed like Sailor Moon? How is it you were able to use her Moon Tiara Action?"

She laughed nervously. "Well, uh, ya see... I'm Moon's temp." She pointed to the brooch as if it were obvious. "Sorry 'bout this..."

The girls murmured between themselves. Obviously, they were having a hard time believing that she could be a Senshi at all, let alone Moon. "Explain yourself," Uranus demanded, her sword ready to strike at a moment's notice.

Mars, however, wasn't going to give her the chance. "You stole the brooch!" She reached for the transformation item as quickly as she could, however her hand only met air.

As if she'd teleported, the redhead was sitting on a branch in a nearby tree, nonchalantly kicking her leg back and forth. "Ya know, I'm kinda gettin' sick a people assumin' things without tryin' ta see things from my perspective. I didn't steal nothin'. She lent it to me ta help ya guys out until she wakes up. That's all."

With a primal growl, Mars threw herself toward the tree, raising her hands as she moved. "You're lying! Evil Spirits, Begone!"

Moon leapt off the tree branch and seemed to float in midair. A Space Sword Blaster came in from Uranus, but she seemed to twist around the attack with a grin on her face. "Ain't never sparred with a magical girl before." She hit the ground like a feather and blurred into motion, aiming for Mars.

Expecting an attack, Jupiter raised her arms to defend her friend. "Sparkling Wide Pressure!"

"Deep Submerge!" Neptune added to the attack, empowering the lightning that was racing toward the redhead with the power of the seas.

In a blink, she was out of sight, causing the attacks to sail across the street and into a wall. They didn't realize where she'd gone until they found her behind Venus, casually braiding her hair and affixing the orange wearing blonde's signature red bow to the end to lock it in place. "What the?! How did you do that so fast?!" she shrieked.

Moon danced away, laughing the whole time as she avoided the retaliating chain. "That's nothin'. Speed an' dexterity are the cornerstones of a good martial artist. Looks good on ya." In her antics, she was blindsided by the Mercury Aqua Rhapsody from the resident genius.

Everyone turned to the blue haired girl, surprised that she'd attack from behind like that. "What? I just finished collecting the data on her and I saw an opening. She might be the reason Moon's in the condition she is."

If the fake Moon seemed upset by it, she didn't show it. "Not bad," she called out, already on her feet, bouncing lightly from one to the other, "but I toldja, Usa... Sailor Moon asked me ta help out personally. Once she's back on her feet, she can fight alongside you guys again." She weaved around a searing blast of fire and grabbed one of the white, wing-like hairpins on her bangs. With a flick of her wrist, she threw it against the black haired Mars' forehead, snickering at the muted 'ow' of minor pain. "That the best you got? I couldn't cook rice on a fire that weak."

"Why you..." Her aura flared as she raised her hands and formed what looked like a bow from the flames. She drew the string back carefully, calling on the Mars Arrow as she did. "Mars... Flame... Sniper!"

Moon's eyes widened the moment she started to draw the bow. She started running immediately. "Oh crap. It was a joke! Ya don't have to bust out the big guns!" She cupped her hands and took aim at the attack. "Moko Takabisha!"

The reaction of the two attacks connecting was instantaneous and violent. The blue orb of ki slammed into the fiery arrow of magic and resulted in an enormous explosion that tore up the streets. The Senshi covered their eyes as fierce winds whipped from the epicenter.

When the dust settled, Moon was standing atop a nearby building. Her fuku was a little scuffled, and her skirt was lightly torn but she seemed otherwise unaffected.

"Are you done playing around yet?" Pluto asked with a tired sigh. "The collateral damage is going to get out of hand."

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I guess I got a decent workout in." Under her breath, but still loud enough for the others to hear, she added, "Gotta remember this ain't Nerima. They probably ain't used to the damage." Unaware of the confusion the Senshi were feeling, she just shrugged her shoulders. "I guess I should be getting back. Everyone's probably havin' a fit wonderin' where I am as it is. Nice finally meetin' you guys!" With a cheeky wave, she bound away over the rooftops.

Uranus was already in motion to chase after her, but Pluto was quick to stop her. "Let her go Uranus. We'll be seeing her again, I'm sure."

The blonde Senshi of the Sky was furious. She leveled a glare at her housemate and friend and crossed her arms over her chest, tapping her foot in frustration. "You're just going to let some imposter who may or may not have stolen our princess's brooch walk away?! We need to go after her and hit her with everything we've got!"

"Don't misunderstand. I'm not saying we should let her be," the Senshi of Time corrected. "That was actually Sailor Moon's power, wasn't it Mercury?"

The blue haired genius was startled at being pulled into the discussion, but she quickly retrieved her portable computer and ran over the data. "Yes. She was showing multiple underlying differences, but she has Moon's signatures all over her. Her use of Moon Tiara Action was a real indicator of that. But... Moon hasn't used that attack in a long time. How could she possibly know about it?"

Pluto smiled thinly. "I suggest we find out. Does the saying not go 'keep your friends close, and your enemies closer'?"

Jupiter found herself thinking about the events that had just occurred. "She mentioned Nerima. Think we should check it out?"

The other girls all exchanged glances and spoke at the same time. "Not it!"

* * *

"Just admit it, he was hanging all over you like a dog!"

"Shampoo wish, but Airan no show up. Is probably sick from too too terrible cooking you make."

"Now hold on a sec. Ranchan said he had some business to take care of, right? Maybe he's buying me a nice gift to show me he loves me."

"Shampoo no ask you! Airan buy Shampoo gift instead!"

"Oh here we go," Ranma grumbled under his breath as he closed the front door behind him. He took a moment to prepare himself and called out his return. His three main fiancées all descended on him at once.

"Where have you _been_?!" Akane growled. Her aura was starting to manifest as wisps of red coming off her body.

"Shampoo want take on date but you no here!" Shampoo demanded. Her posture indicated that she would hunt down anyone he'd been with and inquire as to what they'd been doing, the painful way.

"I was going to have you taste a new recipe!" Ukyo exclaimed. She had been slowly working her way toward a couple of spatulas on her bandolier. They were all unhappy with him. That was not good. Not good at all.

He quickly ran through his options. Running wouldn't work. That would just make the beating worse, and with his luck, he'd probably run into Kodachi or Tatewaki Kuno. Probably both. Telling the truth was even worse. There'd be a war in Minato by nightfall. Lying was problematic, but not entirely impossible. Evading or deflecting the issue was doomed to failure with how intently they were focusing on him. Lie it was.

"I was fishin' in Tokyo Bay! All by myself!"

"Is Tokyo Bay some new sex word Shampoo never hear of before?" the purple haired Chinese Amazon warrior asked in confusion. "If is, why no Tokyo Bay with Shampoo?"

"It better not be!"

There was a heavy, exaggerated sigh from nearby as the girls loomed over him. "Cut the lug some slack. He was at the bay," Nabiki piped up. "Alone. Some abstract special training, I would assume." The look in her eyes said it all. He owed her. Big time.

"Er, yeah, see. Toldja."

The fiancées grumbled under their breath but dropped the subject, dispersing to do other things that thankfully didn't involve making his life hell. He let out a sigh of relief at having dodged the bullet. "Alright Nabiki, whaddya want?"

The middle Tendo daughter smiled enigmatically at the question. "What's so special about a hospital in Juuban?" She started to laugh at the look of shock on his face. "Don't be so surprised. I had you followed within minutes of you leaving the house. You picked up a boxed lunch to eat on the train. Some short kid with glasses accidentally splashed you. You wandered around asking people about the hospital. I did not, however, find out why you were there or how you got out without being spotted."

Ranma pulled at his collar nervously. If Usagi's name ever got out, it would cause problems for more than just him. "Well, uh, ya see... I got this friend who got hurt... in one of them monster attacks that happen..." It wasn't a total lie.

She stared him down for a moment before she finally asked, "And his, or _her_, name?"

"Hiro Kamiya?"

Nabiki sorted. She crossed her arms over her chest and rolled her eyes at the sheer audacity of it. "Try again Ranma. You just wanted to get a peek at the Senshi in combat, didn't you?" She snickered. "You do know that you can't learn to throw magic around like they do just by watching them, right?" Her eyes lit up suddenly. "Now that's a photo shoot. Kuno would pay a fortune for a set of Senshi cosplay pics!"

Ranma grew upset at being forced into a game of 20 questions. "Look," he growled, "I was just visitin' a friend. Just a friend. Not a fiancée, not a girlfriend, not a girl I like. A friend. That's all. No need for you ta stick yer nose in it, alright?"

If Nabiki was at all intimidated, she didn't show it. She just continued to smile coolly. "I know you're hiding an injury. I'll find out what you're up to eventually Ranma. And if it's good..." Her smile grew hungry. "Think it over Ranma. Don't say I'm not fair." She left with a wave that was decidedly more enthusiastic than he would have liked.

"Well crap..."

* * *

"Not it my ass..." Makoto Kino grumbled as she walked up to her destination. It wasn't that she didn't want to do it, she just didn't like that they'd all pushed the work on her. She hadn't even had a chance to pass the buck to someone else like they'd done to her, and since Hotaru wasn't present, she was exempt.

Not that she would push her duties onto a kid like her. Nerima would chew her up and spit her out. But at least Haruka could have tagged along. She was something of a martial artist just like Makoto. And she figured the blonde would make a great wing woman without attempting to snatch her target out from under her like Minako would.

Her gaze fell on the sign in front of the property. Tendo Dojo. When she set off for Nerima this morning, she never figured her minor investigation would lead to a dojo. Destiny worked in funny ways like that. She'd wanted to check one out and learn something new from a master, but that would have to wait until after she questioned him. If his skills were half as good as the boasting on his business card, she'd have a lot to learn.

She reached out and grasped the handle to the bell, ringing it loud enough to hopefully be heard inside. It looked like a very old fashion place. A two story house surrounded by a cement wall, a decent sized yard and a dojo. It seemed very respectable, the kind of place she could see herself being a student of. _Maybe after we get the brooch back and Usagi wakes up,_ she thought wistfully.

She heard the sounds of someone opening up the front door. "Don't worry, I got it Kasumi!" The voice belonged to a female, a teen, if she had to guess. Probably one of the master's daughters.

The girl opened the gate leisurely. She was a brunette, about her age, maybe a little older, with her hair styled into a page boy cut. Dangling from her mouth was an orange popsicle that she pulled away as she sized Makoto up. "Challenge or fiancée?" Her voice sounded bored as she retrieved a pocket notebook and a pencil.

"What?"

In Makoto's moment of confusion, the girl quickly finished her popsicle. When she was done, her posture shifted into a more composed business mode. "If you're here to challenge Ranma, read the sign." Under her breath, she added, "Nobody ever reads the sign," before addressing Makoto again. "If you're one of his fiancées..." she flipped through her notebook before coming to a particular page and scanning it over, "come back tomorrow."

Makoto had no idea what she was talking about, so instead of trying to decipher it, she chose to push on with why she was here. Bowing politely, she stood at attention and addressed the girl. "I'd like to speak with Ranma Saotome. I was told that the master of this dojo could help me with a problem I have."

Silence hung in the air for a moment after she'd spoken her reason for being there. In that moment, she wondered if she would be turned away by this girl. Instead, the girl started to laugh, very hard. "Ranma? The master? Until Daddy gets him to marry Akane, he'll never be master of the dojo. Come on in." She beckoned her to follow and started walking back toward the house.

She led Makoto to the living room and told her to sit down before walking out onto the porch. "Ranma!" she called out. "You have a visitor!" She walked back into the room and took a seat, seemingly losing interest in the ponytailed brunette.

A tall, fit black haired boy entered soon after. He seemed a tad uncomfortable when he spotted her, and she wasn't sure if it had anything to do with the way she was staring at him. She hadn't been expecting him to be her age. Sure, he was a hunk, but she was going to keep it strictly professional.

"What did he sell me for this time?" Ranma asked plainly.

"Huh?"

"Fiancées usually ain't so calm first meetin' me. Pop must notta stole anythin' serious. Or ya ain't aware he stole it."

As she tried to process this, another woman walked up to the table and poured her a cup of tea before setting the tea set down. "She seems nice," the woman, probably an older sister, said kindly. "And she looks strong. That's good, she'll probably need it." She turned her attention to Makoto and smiled. "I'm sure you'll get along fine with the others, but don't hold it against them if they start fighting. They have issues with violence and possessiveness. I'm sure you'll be great friends though." This was said in the same kind, caring voice that seemed to treat what she'd said like a triviality not to be concerned with.

Makoto was confused again. They kept talking about her like she was some kind of fiancée like it was normal she'd just show up at the door and announce her intentions.

"And she used the door," she continued to herself as she returned to the kitchen for snacks. "I almost can't believe it."

"You're Ranma Saotome?" she asked carefully. At his nod, she frowned. "I thought you'd be... older. You have to train for years to be a master... My sensei in Juuban is in his 40s."

The mention of Azabu-Juuban piqued the interest of both Ranma and Nabiki, though both were subtle about it. While Nabiki continued to keep her attention on the television, Ranma chose to brag as a cover. Or maybe because he did take it the wrong way.

Like he'd been insulted, he started to glare. "I've been trainin' all my life. I can whoop Pop an' Mr. Tendo any day of the week. Just 'cause I ain't technically a master don't mean I ain't as good as one. Better even." She honestly hadn't expected him to react so negatively. As far as she knew, she was just stating the obvious.

"Well, the police did say you'd be able to help me..." she admitted.

If that was supposed to put him at ease, it failed. "The cops? What the hell did I do ta get the cops sendin' their work ta me? Damn it, is this because a that thing with the town hall? That was Ryoga's fault and they damn well know it!"

"I'm not really sure what's going on," Makoto admitted sheepishly. She pulled out the business card she'd been given and handed it over to him. It wasn't much, just his name, the address of the dojo, and a few boasts about how he was the best martial artist of his generation and how he could solve any problem that came his way. It was very well crafted though. The mark of a keen eye. "My name is Makoto Kino. They gave me your card and said you'd be able to help me."

He stared at it blankly for a moment before crushing it slowly in his hand. "Nabiki..." he hissed, causing the girl in question to stiffen and laugh nervously. "Is this how everyone's been findin' me lately?"

"It... might have something to do with it," she admitted carefully. "A girl's gotta spend a little money to make money, right?"

"So every two bit martial artist with a grudge, somethin' to prove, or a claim to my hand in marriage can zone right in on me?" he growled. "How many a these things didja have made up?"

Nabiki smiled, clearly playing it cool despite the situation she was in. "They gave me a great deal for buying in bulk, and I figured it would be better to have a lot, in case I needed them all."

He let out a heavy, disappointed sigh. "We'll talk about this later." He turned back to Makoto with a hint of irritation, but otherwise remained calm and collected, even a little curious. "So whaddya need help with? Need me to kick some ass?"

"Not really. I don't think so." She scrunched up her face as she thought of how she could bring up the brooch without leading things back to Sailor Moon and the Senshi. "I have reason to believe that someone from Nerima stole something of mine. A family heirloom. It's one of the only things I have left from my mother, who passed away several years ago now..." It tore her up to use that excuse, but it had to be done. "It's a particular brooch, shaped like a heart."

She noticed Ranma stiffen up, but she ignored it. Nabiki had taken in interest in the conversation, and that seemed to be more important at the moment. "So it's got obvious sentimental value," she assessed. "What about monetary value? If they stole it, they must think it's worth a lot."

She fought hard to come up with something convincing without breaking stride too much. If she screwed it up here, they'd know she was lying. Right now, getting the brooch back, no matter who she had to ask for help, was more important. "I'm... not really sure how much it's worth. I've never bothered to have it appraised. But it means the world to me." It wasn't entirely inaccurate. It just wasn't anywhere close to the truth. "I'm not sure she's looking to sell it yet though."

Nabiki clicked her tongue in thought. "So you know who took it?"

"Not really. Just that she's a redhead. If you showed me some pictures, I probably wouldn't even be able to pick her out. Sorry."

Nabiki started to smirk as she looked over to Ranma while the boy seemed to make himself shrink as much as possible. "That's okay, I think we'll figure this out. In fact, you've inspired me. Normally, I'd charge you a pretty hefty sum for putting my time into something like this, but I know what it's like to lose my mother, so I've decided we can take this on for free. Isn't that right Ranma?"

The pigtailed martial artist nodded rapidly. "That's right. It's a martial artist's duty to help those in trouble. Ya don't got nothin' ta worry about."

Makoto felt relief unlike anything she'd ever felt before. Even with the short amount she'd known them, they both seemed to be fairly reliable people. "Thank you both so much. I don't know how to repay you."

"I'm sure I'll think of something," Nabiki grinned.

* * *

While Makoto was busy with her trip to Nerima, the others were compiling information on what they know of the situation. They'd gathered at Rei's home. "Let's start with our enemy," Minako Aino stated. As the leader of the Guardian Senshi, without Usagi around, it was her duty to take command of the situation. "Does anyone have any information about those things?"

"I did some research last night," Setsuna Meioh, also known as Sailor Pluto, stated. "I think we're dealing with ghouls."

The long haired blonde frowned as she played with the end of her braid. It was, at least for the moment, still how it had been left as a result of the fake Moon's playing. Admittedly, she didn't have much of a problem with it. She thought it was kinda cute actually. "That's like a zombie, right?"

"It's not exactly right, but close enough," Ami Mizuno quipped. "They're undead monsters that feast on human flesh and the like."

"So our enemy is a necromancer?"

"It's possible," Setsuna answered Minako seriously, "but not necessarily. They're demonic creatures. More importantly, they're resistant to magic. Not immune, but resistant enough that they'll give us trouble. Moon's healing attacks would probably be our best shot against them, if she weren't in the hospital."

The sole other blonde in the room, Haruka Tenoh, pulled her arm from around her aqua haired lover and smacked her fist with a grin. "Then we take them down the old fashion way. I'd like to see them survive a Space Sword Blaster from inside."

"And get torn up by their claws..." Michiru chided her. "But even if that does work, that means only three, maybe four of us if Minako uses her old compact or her Chain Wink Sword, can actually deal some serious damage to them. Makoto wouldn't even have a weapon to help."

"Didn't stop the crazy redheaded thief," Rei pouted. "As much as I hate to admit it, she really softened them up."

Ami had been going over the information on her since the fight. It hadn't concluded much, but it had stated that she was definitely a Senshi. "Speaking of her, I'm curious. How is it she can transform? Is it really as simple as getting a hold of our transformation items?"

"I have no idea."

Everyone looked at Setsuna like she was nuts. "How can _you_ not know?" Minako gasped. "You know everything!"

The Senshi of Time didn't seem at all bothered by the outburst. As the oldest of them, she was used to them looking up to her and coming to her for her wealth of knowledge and experience. But even she wasn't perfect. "It's never happened before. There are supposed to be measures in place to prevent such a thing, but no one ever expected anything like this to happen, so the limits were never truly tested. Never mind that there was never a Sailor Moon until Usagi. This could be a fluke, or it could be a sign of something huge. We don't truly know what side this girl is on."

* * *

He was in the crystal ballroom again. And once again, she was there, sitting on a chair at the edge of the room with a book of some sort in her hands. She was still in the elegant dress she'd worn the night before, flipping a page and seemingly unaware of his presence.

"Hey Usagi!"

Startled by being called, she shot out of her seat with a cry of surprise. The book went tumbling away before disappearing into thin air. "Who the heck are you?!"

"It's Ranma... I thought I toldja, my girl form is a curse."

"Oh," she laughed sheepishly. "I kinda thought you weren't serious about that whole curse thing." She took a moment to size up his male form, comparing it to his female form from the night before. Aside from being taller and more muscular compared to the lithe female, there was a certain resemblance, like if they were brother and sister. "This is so weird."

"Yer tellin' me. All it took was gettin' knocked into a cursed spring in China."

"It explains why your father engaged you to a girl." She willed another chair into existence for him and took a seat in the chair she'd been sitting in. "Take a seat Ranma. We have a lot to go over."

With a nonchalant shrug, Ranma sat down in the empty chair. "Yeah, probably a good idea. I think someone's tryin' ta get yer brooch. Some chick showed up at the dojo lookin' for it."

Her eyes widened, but they settled into a hard gaze quickly enough. "You can't let _anyone_ have it. Not only do you need it to transform, but you can't lose the Silver Crystal inside. That's far more important than the brooch. The brooch can be replaced. Believe me, it's happened before. But the power the Silver Crystal holds is immense, and if it fell into the wrong hands, it would be very bad."

"Geez," he grumbled, "yer hidin' somethin' that important in a piece of clothing jewelry? It's a good thing I picked up a little about Hidden Weapons style from Mousse. I've been keepin' it there since this mornin' after the fight. Those friends a yours ain't too friendly. Can't ya tell 'em what's going on?"

She withdrew into herself and stare at the floor sadly. "I don't know why, but I can only talk to you this way. I can hear what's being said in the hospital, but I can't say anything back. I can't even get in contact with Mamo-chan... It sucks! I wish I could just tell everyone not to worry! That I'll be okay! I hate seeing them all so sad!"

Sitting there awkwardly, Ranma wasn't sure what to do. Dealing with the opposite sex was never his strong point. Hell, dealing with distraught people in general wasn't his strong point. This was a double whammy of useless for him. "Well, uh, I guess I could tell 'em somethin', I guess..." he suggested lamely.

Hearing his attempt to help, she took a deep breath and collected herself. "No... no, that's okay. The other Senshi might believe you, but my family definitely won't. I almost don't believe it. I mean, I'm talking to a complete stranger in my dream. My dreams are usually of my past life and stuff, or some foreboding new problem, not like this."

"Well ya ain't tryin' ta kill me, so ya got a step up on most strangers I meet."

She smiled awkwardly, unsure of how to take his compliment, but strangely flattered that it meant something to him. "Well you promised to help me and my friends. That makes you my friend too."

"Great," Ranma grinned. "We'll have to spar when ya wake up. The others barely fought back earlier, 'cept for Mars. Wasn't expectin' her to take it that far, but she's got the right idea."

"I... what?"

"You're Sailor Moon. I gotta spar with you when you wake up! An' you can power up in steps ta make it more intense! Oh man, I'm actually lookin' forward to this more than the next time Ryoga stops by!"

Lost in his own world, he started to envision the fight, which he imagined to be a hard fought battle that, of course, ended with him victorious. From there, he started to consider how he could plan a training regimen for her, to make sure the hero of the world didn't end up in this situation again. Truly in his element, his lopsided grin showed his passion for the art.

"Ranma. Ranma!"

Jolted from his daydream within a dream, he found Usagi pouting. Her cheeks were flushed, and she looked away demurely. "What's up?"

"I have a boyfriend Ranma! One that I'm going to marry in the future and have a daughter with! And you have a fiancée! I mean, I'm flattered, but you can't look at me like that!"

Ranma wasn't following. He wasn't quite sure what a sparring session and training her had to do with them having significant others, even if all of his saw him more as a trophy at this point than a husband. Well, no, Akane probably loved him in her own weird way, maybe. He just wasn't sure how romantic it was. And Ucchan still saw him as her old friend, he was sure. And Shampoo did admire his strength, he guessed. Instead, he stared at her dumbly and asked, "So... you don't want to spar? Can I at least train ya? And that rose throwin', tuxedo wearin', Kuno-like speech shoutin' boyfriend a yers while I'm at it? Avoidin' a repeat a this would be good."

Usagi was silent. Something told her she had read the moment out of a completely different book from him. "You weren't leering at me?"

His eyes widened as a common thread was grasped. As terror swept over him, he jumped out of his chair, knocking it to the ground while he scanned the palace ballroom wildly for dangers impossible to reach him. "Oh crap! That's what you thought I was thinkin'?! Dream or not, I ain't safe! They're gonna come for me tomorrow! I need ta find someplace ta hide out... Like Juuban! Yeah, I'll lose Nabiki's flunkies with a disguise and hang out in your hospital room all day! They'll never think a findin' me there! Perfect!"

Shocked by the sudden change, Usagi stood up and quickly removed the distance that separated them, resting her hand on his shoulder to hopefully help settle him some. If anything, it just made him jumpier. "Who Ranma? Who's going to come for you?"

"My fiancées! All of 'em! And all of the guys that are hung up on _them_! It's gonna be a warzone! I gotta hide out! Ya gotta hide me Usagi!"

If she thought she might have had a grasp on his situation before, that had done nothing to improve it. He'd explained a little about his training journey the night before, after they'd worked out the details of him helping her. He'd even mentioned having a few rivals, but he had failed to mention fiancées. Plural. "I don't know how I can consciously help you!" she exclaimed. "I'm stuck in here rereading whatever manga I can remember and whatever I can _somehow_ pluck from you! What is this about being engaged to more than one woman?!" Ranma's attitude was starting to get to her. She was starting to panic.

"During the training journey, Pop sold me off to a buncha people ta marry their daughters and took off with me an' the dowry," he hastily explained. "An' I gotta clean up the mess the stupid panda created."

"...Oh..." As much as she wanted to help her new friend, she couldn't really think of anything short of taking his mind off the situation. "You can worry about that later. For now, we need to go over the situation. What have you found out about the enemy?"

With a topic that allowed him to think strategically, rather than panic, he started to settle down into something he was more comfortable with. "Well they're tough. Even pushing magic into a revised Moko Takabisha, they still take some serious punishment. They're no Ryoga, but they're pretty fast, and with their numbers, I ain't too sure I could take 'em without the fuku powerin' me up. Bein' a girl and throwin' a speed boost on top of that, they have trouble touchin' me. But their numbers still work to their advantage. They swarm, and eventually, I got hit."

"Are you okay?!"

He shrugged off her concern and shot her a cocky grin. "Course I am. Just a scratch, that's all."

Usagi seemed unsure, and her worry was apparent. Rather than dwell on it though, she decided to not let it sidetrack her. "But you and the others can defeat them, right?"

"Pound on anything enough and it's gonna crumple. Simple as that. And I still got a few tricks up my sleeves. These things want to start a fight, I'm gonna bring it to 'em, and I ain't gonna let up 'til I win."

* * *

Contrary to his expectations, the morning did not start out with hellfire and brimstone. No, it was quiet. Too quiet, especially with how quiet Nabiki had been about the situation with Makoto yesterday. She knew he had the brooch, and she was under the impression he'd stolen it. While the tall wavy haired brunette martial artist seemed oblivious to this, he wasn't about to take any chances. Neither of them could get their hands on it, not on his watch.

He left the house with barely a word saying so, upsetting both his father and Soun for not eating with his fiancée, and Akane, who decided she'd need to follow him to find out what he was really up to. She lost track of him pretty quickly, but Nabiki had told her to check out Juuban. With no other choice, she decided she'd at least see if she could catch the Sailor Senshi in action.

It took significantly longer for him to lose track of Nabiki's scout. When he was sure he was alone, he splashed himself with water and swapped out his clothing for a disguise he'd stashed in his weapons space. While it wasn't nearly as large as Mousse's, it allowed him to keep a few things on hand that might prove useful. Luckily, it allowed her to make it to the hospital in time for a quick bite to eat and just in time for visitation hours to start.

Signing in with the same fake name as yesterday, she made her way to the fourth floor room and took a seat. "Hey Usagi. Toldja I'd stop by. Better get used to me."

The clock ticked on slowly. Too slowly for Ranma. She flipped through the channels, hoping to find something interesting to watch, but despite the numerous channels, there was very little to keep her occupied. She'd learned that just because it was Golden Week, crappy daytime television was still crappy daytime television. If she sensed one of the doctors or nurses coming to check on Usagi, she would use the Umisenken to fade her presence into the unnoticeable. She had been expecting an enemy to show up at some point, but it was quiet. She started to read a manga that someone had left, but after a while, she started to doze.

She'd been pulled from her slumber by the sound of the door opening. She scrambled to hastily explain herself to the doctor, only to find herself face to face with a giggling auburn haired girl about her age. A friend of Usagi's she guessed. She had a light colored ribbon in her hair and was dressed in what she could only guess was supposed to be a fashionable outfit. "Fell asleep?" the girl asked her with a worn smile. She spoke with a bit of a western accent, maybe Osakan, if she had to guess. Definitely Kansai though.

"Yeah," she replied with a stretch before placing the manga back on the table she'd picked it up from. "Figured I'd visit Usagi an' see how she's doin', but I guess I dozed off there."

The girl giggled again. It was a bit brash for how dainty she looked, further reinforcing the Osaka connection. "'Sokay. I'm Naru Osaka. You a friend of Usagi?"

"Mm, yeah, I guess so." She worked the kinks out of her neck and stood up. "Name's Ranko."

"Nice ta meetcha Ranko." Naru turned to the bedridden, comatose blonde with a tired look. "Hey Usagi. I got to meet your friend. Isn't that great? Maybe when you wake up, we can all hang out together and hit up the Crown or somethin'."

Realizing she'd been included in the girl's talk with her friend, she hastily moved from observing the girl for the potential to be one of the Senshi and started talking to Usagi. "Yeah, sure. I ain't sure what this Crown is, but it sounds like fun. Count me in."

"You don't know what the Crown is?" Naru giggled again. It definitely sounded forced, like she was being strong in the face of her friend in the condition she was. Still, she had guts, and it showed in the way she kept moving forward. "It's an arcade, and they have an attached ice cream parlor that has just the best ice cream. You'll love it."

Games and ice cream, especially if she could get a discount? She was game. "Great. Ya hear that Usa? Ya wouldn't wanna miss that, wouldja?"

"Your accent," Naru mused absently, "I can't place it. You from around here?"

"Grew up on the road. Ain't never stayed in one place for too long, 'til lately anyways. Been stayin' with some people in Nerima. You sound like yer from Osaka. I got a friend who grew up around there."

Naru nodded. "More or less. Moved out here to Tokyo when I was young, don't even think my sister remembers it, she was so young. Met Usagi not long after. She's been my best friend ever since." Her voice grew distant toward the end. Under her breath, she absently muttered, "I toldja ta be careful Usagi... Yer always rushin' at everything head first, it was only a matter of time before ya got hurt..."

Ranma was often called dense, but in this moment, she knew there was something she could do to help. Usagi could only talk with her, and here she was, talking with a friend of hers. She'd just have to find a way to convey Usagi's wishes. After all, she didn't lose.

"She'll be alright. I'm sure of it."

"I know," Naru admitted, watching Ranma from the corner of her eye. "She's just resting so she can be her energetic self again when she's fully healed. She may be a bit of a whiner at times," she laughed a little at that, "but Usagi is stronger than anyone I know."

Right then, Ranma was reminded of what this was for. She'd never had a friend that would watch her back unconditionally. Sure, Ryoga and Mousse were far more likely to help out in a pinch, but they were just as likely to stab her in the back that same battle if it looked like they could get away with it. She didn't really blame them, often. That's just how their friendship worked. But Usagi cared. She looked out for her friends, all of them, like Naru and the Senshi.

She may have hated the uniform. She may have been annoyed at having to run back and forth across Tokyo. She wasn't looking forward to Nabiki's schemes or the rivals and the fiancées catching wind of what she was doing, and they certainly would. She was doing something greater than herself. No possible cure, no monetary gain, no attempt to spread her name far and wide to bring it fame. This was purely an act of selflessness, like what the Senshi did every day.

And it felt good.


	2. Part II: Working Together

_Author's Note:_ Part 2 is here. When I was originally coming up with the idea for this story, this was going to be part of Part 1 of 3, but it got to be rather long, and I figured that this was a good place to split it up. So this will officially close out what I'd invisioned as the first part of the story. Because of this, there's no 'cold opening', but there will be one in Part 3, if that matters any. There have been some revisions to it during the editing process (Ami originally said a bad word, but I deemed it probably too out of character, even given the circumstances, but it was fun while it lasted), and I've reworked many of the scenes and even cut a few, but ultimately, the final scene is pretty much how I'd envisioned it.

I'm still working on Part 3 (as in writing, not editing), but it's being a real pain in my ass for various reason. Despite having a pretty clear idea of the whole story in my head, I've been working on a general events timeline, so I'm hoping it'll help me just push through the part that's giving me trouble and get to something that's a bit easier. So don't be surprised if it takes longer to get out, but I'm trying. Expect me to complain about how much it sucks next time.

A big thanks to all the people that have reviewed, favorited, and/or followed this little whim of mine. I didn't expect to see this sort of reaction when I set out. The advice I've received has been really helpful, and I truly appreciate it. I don't have a beta reader, so I don't have anyone backing me up to catch the errors I make. I noticed while rereading Part 1 maybe a day or so after I posted it that I'd completely forgotten one tiny, unimportant piece that I wanted to put in and forgot about. I still have the document sitting in the document manager, so it was easy enough to make the slight alteration and swap the old version out for the new one. It isn't important, and if you read it before I made the change, you may not even notice anything was changed, but I'm a tad, or possibly very, obsessive compulsive, and it would have annoyed me to leave it. Anyways, on with Part 2, or, since I typically use Roman Numerals for chapter numbering, Part II.

* * *

Part II

It had been three days since Ranma had become Sailor Moon, two since she'd met Naru. It had been a decent break since her first battle, but in that time, she'd dealt with trying to 'help' Makoto and got involved in another hair brained scheme Kuno had concocted to get back at him/win her heart. Akane'd given her hell for losing her the other day, but the yelling hadn't been so bad, considering she could have beaten her senseless. It had been life as usual for the young martial artist. But she'd known it wasn't going to stay that way for long.

She didn't bother to pace herself as she slammed her fist hard into the ghoul's face, sending the thing tumbling into a pair of its companions. Without wasting any time, she leapt over a swipe from another behind her and planted a foot into its skull, several times.

The things were surprisingly smart. After only a single time of her tricking one of the ghouls into attacking a friendly, they'd decided their heat wave attacks were best used when another ghoul wasn't in immediate danger of getting caught in the crossfire. Unfortunately, being a magic based attack, it still did crap for damage.

She kicked the creature one last time and flipped into the air, avoiding both the swipe of a ghoul's claws and a World Shaking from Uranus. It missed her, but it succeeded in removing the ghoul's head, taking it out of action and removing one more piece from the battlefield. She wasn't sure why, but she just knew the Senshi of the Sky had a grudge against her. It reminded her of the earlier days with Ryoga.

While in midair, she righted herself and cupped her hands together, filling them with both magic and ki. "Moko Takabisha Revision: Moonlight Fang!" The attack exploded as it struck a lone ghoul, leaving it dazed just long enough for Saturn to slice it open with her glaive. She nodded in appreciation to the youngest Senshi and dove back in.

Fire, Water, Ice, and Lightning raged around her. She could see Jupiter using the momentary stun as a hit and run tactic to get in close and deliver some punches before getting out and hitting them with magic again. Uranus was using a similar tactic with her own sword, while Venus was holding them off with her chain and occasionally tossing what looked like a compact at the enemies, cutting them open and dealing decent damage.

But they weren't working in sync. While the Senshi were working together fairly well, she was very much the odd one out. Dropping down, she performed a leg sweep, knocking another ghoul to the ground before she pulled a knife out from her weapons space and plunged it into its neck.

She barely avoided the Burning Mandala that slammed into a nearby ghoul. Another failure of coordination. She took advantage of it though, and unleashed an Amaguriken on the thing. On the final punch of the rapid sequence, she drove her knife between the thing's ribs and leapt away as it died. A quick scan of the battlefield showed that the others had taken out another pair. Four left.

She launched a few vacuum blades using one of Neptune's Deep Submerges as cover, giving a serious one two punch to one of the remaining ghouls. This had kind of interrupted Uranus's incoming strike, but Pluto picked up in the moment of hesitation and hit the thing with a Dead Scream. It was taken out soon after by Venus's crescent moon shaped compact boomerang.

The opposite happened soon after, when she attempted to rush one of them, only to be interrupted by a wave of energy leaves from Jupiter. This was getting frustrating. She'd had plenty of disharmony fighting alongside Ryoga in the past, but at least they kept a solid rhythm. Even the blind as a bat Mousse didn't interrupt her fighting pattern this much. Ironically, it proved not to matter as the ghoul was impaled on a belt.

She groaned long and hard as Ryoga rushed one of the last two and slammed a meaty fist into its chest and damn near collapsed its ribcage. In a way, it was good to have a friend she could harmonize with, to an extent, but it was so late in the battle that it was more of a pain than anything.

She sidled up next to him and punched the ghoul before speeding out of range. "Damn it Ryoga, get out of here before these things turn you into bacon bits!"

"Hey! Who are you calling bacon bits?!" the lost martial artist cried at the insult, rather than the swipe of the ghoul's claws that left a series of thin blood trails on his chest. "I'll have you know I can take these things no sweat! Just watch! Bakusai Tenketsu!" To prove his point, he shoved a single finger into the ground, causing it to explode into sharp shards that tore up the ghoul, but didn't finish it off.

She felt the competitive fires burn. "Oh yeah?" She grabbed the tiara from her head and channeled her magic into it before flinging it at the beat up ghoul. "Moon Tiara Action!"

Ryoga stood unimpressed as the golden disc cut through the fiendish creature and killed it. "Hmph, that only worked because I weakened it up."

The Senshi watched in awe as Moon and the decidedly suicidal human exchanged banter and set their sights on the final ghoul, only to watch as Saturn stabbed it with her glaive and unleashed her attack. "Silence Glaive Surprise!" The violent attack tore apart the ghoul from inside, leaving the two quarrelling outsiders to stare at her.

"Good job Saturn..." Moon finally managed to say. The purple suited Senshi of Death and Rebirth nodded her head in acknowledgement and moved to return to her allies.

Ryoga growled at the unfairness of it, and how he wanted to work out his frustration. He stared at Moon for a moment curiously. "You remind me of someone," he murmured, only to growl again. "And when I find him, I'm going to kick his ass for tricking me into getting lost again!" She supressed the snicker she felt coming on at the reminder of their last incounter. It was his own fault really, she'd just given him a little... push. He adjusted his pack and took off in a random direction, letting his senses guide the way.

"Do you know that man?" Jupiter asked her curiously. "You called him Ryoga."

"Nah," she lied. "Just thought he looked familiar."

Pluto ignored the conversation and walked casually toward Moon. "Regardless, that isn't the issue. You took off so fast last time that we didn't have a chance to give you this." She held out what looked like a bracelet of some kind. More jewelry she'd never wear.

"Uh, thanks."

"It's a communicator. Always keep it on you so we'll be able to contact you in case we need you to battle."

She accepted the communicator and cocked her head to the side, observing it as she held it in her hand. "So you all got one a these things then?"

Each of them nodded. With a shrug, she slipped it into her weapons space, intent to check it out later to see how it worked. "I guess I should be goin'. See ya." She leapt away before finding a safe place to change back. Maybe Usagi could tell her a bit more about the communicator too. If they all had one, it stood reason to assume that she did too.

With Ryoga's involvement, she started to wonder if maybe she'd still be able to help after Usagi woke up. In that case, a communicator would come in handy. It was something she'd have to think long and hard about.

* * *

"Makoto called while you were off on your little adventure to Juuban. She wanted to know if we've made any progress." Nabiki didn't even bother to hide what Ranma was up to when he left the house every morning. It had become an open secret that his daily trips were to the Minato ward. She'd made a small fortune off that little nugget of information.

There were many people who naturally had a problem with this. "You will cease this senselessness right this moment!" Soun Tendo howled angrily through his manifested demon head technique. "At least take Akane with you! But if she gets hurt by any of those monsters I've heard about, I will hold you personally responsible!" Genma Saotome was nodding his head sternly in agreement while the panda cursed martial artist munched on a stalk of bamboo.

"I can take care of myself!" Akane growled, tired of her father's usual antics, especially when it came to her and Ranma. She also didn't seem happy to know Ranma had been spending his time at the stomping grounds of a group of magical girls, even if she did admire said magical girls.

Ranma walked past the Tendo patriarch, his jaw set tightly in a frown. "What'dja tell 'er?" he asked her carefully.

"Still looking, but I might have a few leads that might pan out." It was an obvious threat, but he wasn't sure whether it was all bluff or if she would actually sell him out. She took the work for free, knowing full well that Ranma was the suspect, and yet she'd done nothing about it. Whatever she had planned, it wasn't going to end well for him.

He nodded halfheartedly. "I'm sure ya do. Whaddya tryin' ta get out of her?"

"Maybe I'm doing it out of the goodness of my heart. Has that ever occurred to you?"

He snorted but wisely chose to keep his mouth shut for once. Pissing Nabiki off usually had terrible consequences. Consequences his wallet couldn't handle at the moment. He already had trouble footing the usual bill.

Akane was watching their exchange intently. She was, by far, the most curious as to what he was up to, and she had a feeling Makoto's missing brooch was involved somehow. There was no way it was just coincidence. "I still can't believe I haven't gotten to meet the Senshi," she grumbled. "They finally had a battle, and I missed the chance to be there because I was taking care of my homework with Sayuri and Yuka."

"Speaking of school," Nabiki drawled out casually, "how do you plan to continue your excursions when school starts back up in a couple days? Nerima to Minato isn't a short trip. Might cramp your schedule."

"I'll think a somethin'."

"Whatever you're up to, it can't be that important," Akane scoffed. "If it's just training, you can do that anywhere."

His eyes set in a hard gaze. "It ain't just training. This is singlehandedly the most important thing I've done." With his piece said, he turned toward the stairs and walked off. That night, he decided to start running Usagi through some basic forms and exercises. Even if she lacked an actual presence, he figured the knowledge was as good a place to start as any.

* * *

There was an air of hesitation as Ami stood in front of the hospital bed belonging to one of her best friends. To anyone who saw her, they saw someone concerned with the state of a friend. While that was true, there was another emotion that she felt. Guilt. And with the way some strange girl had come in trying to replace Usagi, she felt anger. She could never be replaced. She wouldn't allow it.

"Why won't you wake up?" she whispered under her breath. "Everything is falling apart without you."

Her mother still hadn't found anything that could be called 'official'. The longer her coma lasted, the more the doctors questioned it. Test after test had been performed, and yet it all amounted to nothing. The others were becoming more and more convinced that the missing brooch was the cause of Usagi's condition, but Ami wasn't so sure anymore.

The blonde appeared to be sleeping peacefully. According to the Mercury Computer, she was getting better, slowly, but it was progress none the less. The fact that the redhead had stolen the brooch in this time appeared to be coincidental. Either way, they would find a way to get the brooch back from the slipper girl somehow.

"If you miss any school, I'll be sure to help you make it up. No matter what, I'll make sure you can pass with no trouble."

An awkward silence permeated the room. She really wanted to tell her about the imposter, and she wanted to talk about how they were learning to fight their enemies. But this wasn't the place for that discussion. Too many people around to overhear. The silence, and her hesitation, were both ended by a chirping noise. Her communicator.

She brought the bracelet up and clicked it on. "I'm here."

She could see Makoto had already transformed before contacting anyone. _"We need everyone,"_ she insisted. _"And I mean _everyone_. It's hit the fan, _hard_."_

_"Even the fake?"_ Haruka asked her sourly.

An explosion sounded in the background while Makoto ducked out of sight for a brief moment. _"Right now, we can't afford to leave her out. We need all available hands. We just have to trust she'll help us out like usual."_

"I'll call her," Ami suggested. "You get back to the fight." Makoto nodded, and the screen blinked out. "I've got to go," she quickly told Usagi, even if she wasn't sure she could hear. "It's important."

* * *

If the weird throbbing sensation in his mind hadn't told him something was wrong, the chirping noise from his weapons space definitely told Ranma he was needed. Luckily, he'd been alone in the dojo at the time, so all it took was a splash from his water bottle before she answered.

Mercury was in the little window, and she looked concerned, and frankly, a little confused. _"Moon?"_

"Yeah. Who else'd I be?"

_"Oh,"_ she murmured. _"I've never seen your civilian form, so I wasn't sure."_

_Crap!_ It was an amateur mistake, one she'd walked right into without thinking. Despite being a team, she wasn't sure if they knew who each other were. She still hadn't mentioned Usagi's name around them, just in case. She wasn't sure how she could downplay the colossal mistake. "Um, what's up? Somethin' happening?"

She nodded urgently. _"There's a big fight, and we could use your help. Soon. It's urgent."_

"Be there in a flash," she replied with a cocky smirk. "I'm pretty good at followin' explosions." She closed the connection and exchanged her communicator for the brooch. "Moon Cosmic Power, Make Up!" A bright light surrounded her, stripping her of her normal attire to be replaced by a white unitard, blue fuku collar, and a red bow. White gloves trimmed in red slid covered her hands while a pair of red boots protected her feet. A blue skirt wrapped around her waist, and a big red bow appeared on her lower back. This was all topped off with a golden tiara that appeared on her forehead and a pair of white, wing-like hair clips on her bangs while a red choker formed around her throat to finish the transformation. All set, she dashed out of the dojo and sped off toward Juuban. Little did she realize, someone had seen the entire exchange, and she did not look happy.

With her enhanced speed, she was able to make the trip quickly, wasting very little time in arriving. It wasn't hard to find the battle. While collateral damage was inevitable when large scale magic battles, or high powered martial artists, were involved, this was already worse than what she'd come to know from her limited time as Senshi of the Moon.

There were enough ghouls to outnumber the eight Senshi currently in battle, hard enough as it was to fight ten ghouls, but the battle was being overseen by something she hadn't encountered before. The sinister woman hovered over the battlefield with wings of black. Clawed talon-like feet peeked out from beneath her blood red dress. Haunting yellow gold eyes surveyed her minions as they fought against the Senshi. Moon was going to do something about that.

"Moko Takabisha Revision: Moonlight Fang!" The woman didn't notice until it was too late that she was being attacked. As the attack exploded on her, Moon was already bringing her own brand of pain up close.

Despite being unable to fly, it wasn't hard for her to get the air needed to hit her. Her fist slammed into the woman's face right as the smoke cleared. She followed that up with a kick to the right wing, which she also used to keep herself up. That was followed up with a knee to the back of the head as she started to fall.

Sick of being used to keep the redheaded Senshi aloft, the woman smacked her away with her clawed hand. They were sharp, just as sharp as those belonging to the ghouls, but Moon ignored the pain that blossomed from the wounds and used her momentum from the fall to crack the neck of a ghoul cornering Mars. She glared at her, but Moon ignored it and turned her attention back to the woman who was nearing the ground. "What's the matter? Can't handle a little pain?"

The woman scoffed. "You have nothing on me, insolent fool. I, the great Nemain Catha! Hmph, such a worm could never hope to harm me."

"Oh, zat why yer hangin' out now, after we've been dismantlin' your ugly kids?"

Nemain growled under her breath, but she did not let her anger get the better of her. "I merely wish to witness the moment when my ghouls destroy you Senshi filth once and for all. I will succeed where my right hand minion did not."

Moon grinned and grabbed at her tiara, scanning the remaining nine ghouls for which one had taken the most damage. With a very slight nod, she tossed the tiara at the creature and caught it effortlessly as it returned to her after having cut the creature in half. "You were sayin'?"

"I see. You are an interesting one. Let's see how well you fare against this." Nemain clapped her hands together and summoned a black mist. Steadily, it grew larger and larger until it encompassed her entirely. "Common Strife..."

The orb of mist suddenly expanded, covering the entire battlefield. Moon had crossed her arms in front of her, but nothing seemed to happen. She relaxed, slowly, but her danger sense told her that something bad was happening. She turned around just in time to see Mars release a fiery arrow aimed right at her.

"Crap!" She dove to the side as the Mars Flame Sniper blazed through the spot she'd been standing in. She just managed to roll out of the way when a sword slashed at her wildly. Uranus's sword. "Whoa, what the hell! We're on the same team guys!" She barely had enough time to protect herself before being smashed by a Deep Submerge. Apparently, the three of them had decided to forget their ghouls altogether and focus on her. "Well if that's how ya wanna play it..."

She shot off like a bullet towards Uranus, the one she deemed the strongest, and thus the biggest threat. "Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken!" The series of rapid fire punches she occasionally called the chestnut fist struck her repeatedly and with great force, enhanced by the transformation. She finished it off by snapping out a kick to the head that sent Uranus tumbling into Neptune, knocking both off their feet.

"What the hell are you talking about chestnuts for?!" Mars growled, only to be caught off guard when a billiard ball smacked her in the head. Her feet were pulled out from under her when Ranma tripped her, leaving stars swimming in her vision.

"Jupiter Oak Evolution!" Leaves slammed into Ranma, throwing her away from the downed Mars. "Need a little help?" Jupiter asked snidely.

"Shut up! I was handling her just fine!"

Nemain laughed gleefully as the Senshi started to fight amongst themselves. Her ghouls had taken to avoiding the brewing fight in favor of other targets on her orders. It was so beautiful to watch allies destroy each other.

Mercury just barely managed to avoid the swipe from the ghoul she'd been fighting when things started falling apart. She thought they'd lost it when Mars, Uranus, and Neptune openly attacked Moon. She'd wondered if Moon had a death wish when she attacked back. But it was the bickering between Mars and Jupiter, and then them and the two Outers when they'd rejoined the assault on their shared target that sent chills down her spine. "This isn't good..."

"My thoughts exactly," Pluto said carefully. "We need to stop them from fighting each other and get them back on the real opponents."

"But... how? Any attempts to get involved will only make things worse."

"Follow my lead." The Senshi of Time raised her staff at Nemain and called out her attack. "Dead Scream!"

Mercury hastily followed her example. "Shine Aqua Illusion!"

While the two of them attacked the leader directly, Saturn and Venus were busy fighting the ghouls that had decided to swarm them. It was getting rough, and Saturn had to put up a Silence Wall while Venus readied her compact. "Why are they fighting each other?"

Saturn's eyes hardened as she caught Uranus lash out at Mars while the Senshi of Fire returned the favor with a Burning Mandala. "This mist is enhancing our discord." She leveled her glaive at a group of weakened ghouls. "Silence Glaive Surprise!"

While Saturn took out two of them, Venus added one to her count with the compact. "Okay... How come we're unaffected?"

The pint sized Senshi didn't say anything in reply as she lashed out with her glaive and cut into another one.

Nemain was shocked that someone had the gall to attack her, even with her mist still about. "I see, so not all of the pests were given the push they needed. Then I shall take you two out first! Ghouls! After them!"

The four remaining ghouls turned their attention from Venus and Saturn to Mercury and Pluto, leaving the pair free to attack Nemain. Pluto had a different idea though. "Saturn, keep Nemain busy! Venus, use your compact to heal the others!"

The blonde haired Senshi of Love turned to her in confusion. "Wait, you mean I can still do that? I haven't done that in forever!"

"Now, Venus!"

Startled into action, Venus opened her compact and held it high above her head. Light began to shine from the item. "Venus Power: Crescent Shower of Love! Pour down on us!" The glow intensified as a shower of sparkling light began to fall from the sky and wash away the dark mist that was covering the battlefield, halting the quarrelling Senshi in their tracks.

"Were we just fighting?" Neptune asked, unable to comprehend why they would drop their duties to pick a fight with the imposter, let alone why they would also take the fight to their fellow Senshi.

"The ghouls!" Jupiter exclaimed suddenly, turning around to rush the remaining enemies that were giving Mercury and Pluto a hard time.

Realizing her plan had fallen apart, Nemain raised her hand and gathered her energy, striking out wildly at her enemies. "Harbinger of Downfall!" The blood red attack went wide when her arm was struck by a pool cue, digging up a fresh trench where the blast of magic hit the ground.

Moon's eye twitched. "I hate being mind controlled... I really, _really_ hate it..." She cracked her knuckles and worked the kinks out of her neck. "Hey, ya old hag! Yer gonna get it now!" She leapt into the air and smashed her fist into Nemain's face. A sickening, yet satisfying crunch filled the air as the winged woman's nose gave. She hauled back and cupped her hands, filling them with a radiant blue before releasing it point blank. "Moko Takabisha!"

While Nemain yelled in pain, Jupiter crushed a ghoul's windpipe and Uranus disemboweled another, releasing a Space Sword Blaster from inside. Pluto swung back and hit the third with her staff like it was a baseball bat while Venus cut it open with her compact. The last ghoul was taken down by a combination of attacks from Mercury, Neptune, and Mars before finally being cut apart by Saturn's glaive.

This was punctuated by a cry of "Kijin Raishuu Dan!" followed by a howl of pain as one of Nemain's pitch black wings fell to the ground, followed shortly thereafter by herself, with one of Moon's heeled boots settled into her midsection to help the process along.

The now one winged woman cried out once more when she hit the ground, clutching at the remains of her right wing as if it would have helped. "You _bitch_!" she shouted, climbing unsteadily to her feet. "You're going to pay! Your death will be slow and very painful! Just you wait Sailor Moon!"

"Ya ain't the first to want me dead, ya ain't gonna be the last." Moon shrugged absently, noting in the woman's anger that she had virtually zero ki in her aura, and that it seemed to be made of magic instead. "Ya can take a bit of punishment, but them wings are squishy. I kinda didn't expect the sealed arts to work so well against 'em. Might have ta go easy on Pop tonight when we spar." She reached up for her tiara to finish the job, but Nemain teleported away from the battle before she could fire off the spell. She stomped her foot in frustration, but she knew there was nothing she could do at the moment. She'd work it out in the dojo when she got back.

"So... uh, that kinda sucked," Moon stated awkwardly when she turned back to the others. "Sorry 'bout that." None of them really responded to that, and instead seemed to be milling about amongst each other. "Guess I should get back. Left kinda suddenly." She gave them a halfhearted wave and leapt off in the direction of Nerima, feeling a serious headache coming on.

* * *

Ranma was dripping wet when she entered the house. She'd just changed back, and apparently, the forces in her life had conspired to keep her a girl. At least she'd be able to get some hot water from Kasumi and change back, safe from the dangers of the wet world outside.

The house was surprisingly empty when she got back. Her father and Soun were both out. Akane had some meeting with the drama club about an upcoming play, and Kasumi was at the market picking up food for supper. The only other person in the house was sitting in front of the television, flipping through the channels blankly. "About time you got home," Nabiki drawled out, "Sailor Moon."

She laughed nervously at the accusation, well aware that her ability to lie was... situational. "I don't know what yer talkin' about..."

"A little tip," the middle Tendo sighed. "If you're going to transform, don't do it where anybody can see you. Especially someone who might use that information to make a quick buck or screw you over. Especially if they can accomplish both at the same time."

Eyes wide with panic, Ranma stood frozen as Nabiki rolled her eyes. "Relax, even I wouldn't go that far, not that it doesn't piss me off. Prime blackmail material, and I can't even use it." She patted her hand down on the table across from her. "So tell me. How long has my future brother in law been a magical girl of love and justice and all that crap?"

"A few days," she admitted weakly as she took a seat across from the money loving Tendo. "It ain't a full time gig, but... I kinda like helpin' 'em out. I feel like I'm doin' somethin' good with the art."

Nabiki nodded amicably, but she didn't seem very enthusiastic. "I figured as much. So the hospital was a decoy. I should have known."

"No. It ain't," she stated seriously. "I was visitin' Sailor Moon, the real Sailor Moon. She got hurt pretty bad in an attack an' asked me to fill in for her." With a sigh, she started to play with her braid. "I never expected the others ta be so... normal. They always seemed like such a solid group, but I feel like I'm fightin' alongside a group of Ryogas and Mousses. Like we were fightin' some crow lady today, and she used some attack, and suddenly, we were fightin' each other."

Nabiki snorted at the explanation and held out her hand expectantly. With a groan, Ranma fished out a few bills and set them in her hand. She counted the money with a nod and a pleased smile before giving her some 'advice'. "I doubt I'd trust someone suddenly showing up in my leader's uniform either. And your attitude can cause some friction. They've been working together for years. You're new, and an idiot. I'm not surprised."

"So I just gotta earn their trust. Can't be too hard."

"Ranma, how many people do you honestly know that can say they trust you. Or you trust them for that matter."

"Well, um, there's... No... Wait! No, can't go with Daisuke or Hiroshi either... Uh..." Her mouth flapped as she tried to come up with someone who trusted her unquestioningly, and who she trusted just as much. "Well there's Kasumi..."

"Kasumi doesn't count," she snickered. "She's an anomaly and you know it. And it's not like she hasn't screwed you over to get out of eating Akane's cooking just like the rest of us."

Ranma wracked her brain trying to think of someone else who fit the bill, but only one name came to mind, one she didn't think Nabiki would accept. "Sailor Moon," she muttered under her breath.

A devilish smirk appeared on Nabiki's face upon hearing the words. "Oh boy, someone you just met outranks my little sister on the trust scale. I'm sure you don't want her finding out." She held her hand out again, forcing Ranma to hand her more of her precious spending money. She'd have to find a part-time job soon.

"It ain't like that! She's been puttin' her own skin on the line to save the world, and when she got hurt, she came to me, askin' me to help her out, just this once, for her friends and the world! She don't even care about my curse!"

Nabiki sat silently for a moment following Ranma's explanation. At that moment, she seemed unusually serious. "Ranma, how many people do you know that would pass the buck to someone else just to save their own ass. What makes you think she's any different?" She stood up from her seat and turned away from her. "Two can play that game Ranma. And I've been playing it for a long time. Knowing what I do now, it's only a matter of time before I find out who she is. And when I do, I'll pay her a visit, personally." She shot her a cocky grin. "Thanks Ranma. This chat has been very informative."

"You ain't gonna get anything from her," she said defiantly.

"Oh?"

"She's in a coma. Only person she can speak to is me. And I know she ain't lyin'."

There was a tense moment between the two as they stared each other down. "I hope you know what you're doing Ranma. Because if she sells you out, it's you the monsters will come after, not her. You, your mother and father, Akane, Ukyo, Shampoo, Kasumi and me, Daddy. Everyone you care about will be in danger."

"Ain't no different from the loons you bring in ta make my life hell."

* * *

"Thanks again for the manga Ranma. It's so boring when you're not around." Neither of them had expected having him stuff some reading material into his weapons space and handing it to her after falling asleep would actually work, and yet, somehow, it worked like a charm. One of those oddities, he supposed, like her being able to give him the brooch in the first place. He made sure to include a few scrolls on things like meditation and breathing exercises, even a few on accessing ki, even if it was currently useless to her. She'd groaned at it but accepted them anyway.

He grunted noncommittally and moved through a kata with practiced ease. Usagi watched him intently, intrigued by his careful, skillful movements. There was a level of grace to it like nothing she'd ever seen before, and he made it look so easy. Part of her wondered if she'd ever get half as good in the future. But still, it seemed almost like a cover for something else. "Is something wrong?"

He came to a stop, turning to her. She wore a worried expression on her face, one that he wasn't used to seeing directed at him. It reminded him that this wasn't just his problem. It involved her too. "Nabiki found out I've been covering as Sailor Moon," he finally told her.

"Oh..." Her face fell instantly. He'd told her some things Nabiki had done in the past. Not a whole lot of that was worth getting excited about. "You explained to her why it needs to be secret, right? She won't tell anyone, will she?"

"Nah, not about me. She's worried it'll come back on her and her family ...probably, an' I can't blame her for it. But it ain't me she's lookin' for. It's you, and if she finds out, I ain't too sure she'd be so willing to keep quiet."

Usagi's eyes widened as panic swept over her, falling to her knees on the ballroom floor. Her breath, if she actually had any at the moment, was short, and her vision swam. "So... so soon? I'm not sure I'm ready to let people know yet... And the others. I can't let them be discovered too! I can't let my family be in danger like that either! What am I going to do Ranma?! I'm not strong enough to protect them all yet!"

Ranma flicked her forehead before she could fall into a full blown panic attack. Tears were already threatening to break free, and he didn't want to be stuck with a crying girl for the rest of his sleep. "Take it easy. I'll talk her out of it. It's money she's after, so I just gotta foot the bill. I just gotta prove you an' the others ain't a danger to her and the rest of her family."

She wiped at her tears, though it did little to put him at ease. "I can't let you do that. I asked you to help me, but I didn't ask you to put yourself in debt on my account." She thought furiously at a plan while she stood up from her chair. "She isn't the first person to learn of our secret identities. Maybe... if she waits until I wake up, I can talk to her personally. Then I can explain everything to her. And by then, you won't have the brooch, so you won't be involved and she won't have anything to worry about."

"I'll see what I can do," Ranma replied. "Might just have ta agree to a few photo shoots to keep her happy. And after you get the brooch back, I might be able ta help out anyway. Ryoga looked like he was able to hold his own, so I shouldn't have a problem against 'em either."

"We agreed Ranma," she pouted. "Once I wake up, you'd leave Senshi business to us. This is dangerous, and you're already risking your life enough as it is. You said it yourself, if it weren't for the magic, you might not be able to stand up to them."

His expression hardened with determination. "A martial artist's life is fraught with peril. Pop drilled that into my head since I was a kid. Besides, I ain't gonna stand by and do nothing if someone is in danger. I know what I said, but I never said I wouldn't continue to fight, and after seein' what I have, I ain't gonna leave it be. It's a martial artist's duty to protect those that can't protect themselves. This is one a them times."

"Ranma..." She wasn't sure what to say. At one time, she'd have been thrilled to have a new ally, but the magic he was using was hers. Sure, he was a good fighter, and resilient, but this wasn't a normal enemy he was fighting. This was someone trying to take over the world, or even destroy it. Without magic of his own, he was a liability. And yet, he was adamant about his continued role in the fight.

"Look, I know I ain't no Sailor Sun or Sailor Earth or nothin', but it ain't the first time I've fought impossible enemies and won. I don't lose." He had a smug grin on his face as he spoke, reflecting the hardships he'd been through in his short life. Hardships that, in a way, he had in common with Usagi. He fully recognized that they both had their share of tough enemies that they fought hard against to earn their victories. "Look, don't worry about it. I'm gonna keep training so I can fight them things without relyin' on your magic. I'll do somethin' about Nabiki too. I don't know what yet, but I'll figure it out before morning."

* * *

"I'm a little surprised," Ami laughed quietly as she took in her surroundings, "I've heard the rumors, but Nerima seems like a very peaceful place. The damage doesn't seem too bad. Nothing worse than Juuban sees anyway."

Makoto shrugged. "Yeah, I don't really get it either. Apparently, Ranma, the guy that's helping me find the brooch, hasn't had too much going on lately. From what I've heard, he seems to be involved in a lot of the bigger stuff that breaks out."

Ami looked over to her friend skeptically before looking down to the Mercury Computer's screen. "Are you sure you can trust this guy? I don't mean to be critical of him, but how can one average teen be of much help in finding the other Moon and getting the brooch from her?"

"Well the police seem to think he's reliable enough to slack off on their work, and if we get to her first, it's not like it'll change much. He's not charging anything to help." She peeked over Ami's shoulder at the screen. She wasn't much of an expert when it came to the Mercury Computer, but she'd seen Ami use it all the time. That said, she still had no idea what she was looking at. "Any signal yet?"

"No. Not really. There seems to be something interfering with the locator in the communicator. Either she's on to us, or she's very cautious." She bit her lip and chewed on it, a bad habit she'd picked up lately. She glanced over at the tall brunette that walked beside her, someone she'd worked with for years and trusted more than almost anyone else. At one time, they'd been strangers fighting alongside each other in a war they barely understood. She barely even liked her back then. Not until she'd actually gotten to know the caring young woman that was Makoto Kino and Sailor Jupiter. "Makoto, are you sure she's lying? What if she is intending to give the brooch back when Usagi wakes up? She did say she was just a temp."

Makoto stopped walking. Her gaze was centered squarely on her feet. The sidewalk was cracked and bowed a little, but unlike the recently paved road, this didn't seem bad enough to require immediate repair. "I don't," she whispered. "Maybe she is telling the truth. Maybe she is trying to help in some way. But I won't let her get away with stealing Usagi's brooch. She's my best friend Ami. She stood by me when nearly everyone else was treating me like some thug. I won't let this new girl treat Usagi like that. She can't just waltz in and pretend to be her."

That attack their enemy had used, Common Strife, really had her worried. If their enemy could make them fight over whatever petty grudges they may have held that meant nothing, what chance did they have if they could barely work alongside Moon's so-called replacement. "I get that, and I agree, it's just..." She trailed off, eyes widening slightly. "It's her," she murmured, pointing across the street to where a redhead girl was casually strolling down the sidewalk happily licking at an ice cream cone in her hand. Her hair was in a braid, like the imposter Moon's, and she was wearing a red silk shirt with short and a pair of black pants that looked a bit large for her small form. It would look a little comical if it hadn't been obvious she wasn't wearing a bra. "She isn't wearing the brooch. Does she not have it on her?"

"That's her? She seems so... frail. I think she's shorter than you are. I never noticed that when she was transformed."

Ami rolled her eyes and raised the Mercury Computer up to capture her image. Instead of discreetly taking her picture though, it seemed to catch her attention, and the picture showed her posing cutely and winking at them. She looked up to see the girl crossing the street with a smirk on her face, waving at them as she approached.

"Yo, Makoto!"

The two visitors to Nerima exchanged a panicked glance as she reached them. "Do I know you?"

It was the readhead's turn to look caught off guard. She started to sweat and looked around for a moment before finally settling down, as if she remembered something. It looked a bit suspicious. "Nah, not really. I heard about ya though. I'm Nabiki's cousin Ranko."

"Ami Mizuno," the blue haired Senshi introduced herself. "I suppose you already know of my friend Makoto." Ranko nodded casually.

"Nabiki's cousin huh. Does that mean you've been helping her?" Makoto asked, not really buying the explanation for a second.

"Nah," Ranko replied before taking a lick at her ice cream. "Anything Nabiki's involved in usually means trouble for me. Honestly, if I were you, I wouldn't trust her as far as ya can throw her."

If it was supposed to clear anything up, it didn't. It only made them more confused as they tried to figure out what the readhead's goal was. "Why is that?" Ami asked hesitantly. "Isn't she helping Makoto find her stolen brooch?"

"Well yeah," she replied with a shrug, "but everyone 'round here knows that Nabiki don't do nothin' for free unless she's got somethin' bigger planned. You two are from Minato, right?" When both of them nodded, she continued. "She's probably lookin' to use that. I heard her mention somethin' about tryin' to learn Sailor Moon's secret identity."

"What?!"

Ranko stepped back from their surprised shout, wincing slightly as she did. "Hey, chill, I ain't sayin' that's it. Just keep an eye out if yer doin' business with her. At the very least, she'll probably find ya that brooch, even if it's only ta hook ya in for repeat business."

The way she was casually talking about something they knew she had was unnerving. Whether she had connected the dots and was messing with them or she was just coincidentally talking about something in her possession, Ami didn't know, but she didn't want to take the chance.

Makoto was frowning at what she'd heard. "What about Ranma? He's the one I originally asked. Is he any more trustworthy than Nabiki?"

Ranko shrugged, taking her time to lick her ice cream up before it melted further. When she'd cleaned it up enough, she cocked her head to the side and thought about it. It seemed a bit showy, but the girl gave off an air of confidence and over the top tomboyishness, so it was hard to tell if she was acting. "Dunno. I try not ta bother him. Uncle Tendo might decide to switch the engagement over to me if things don't work out between him and Akane."

Makoto's eyes glazed over at the news, and Ami decided she'd better take over before she said something stupid. "I see. That must be hard. Arranged marriages can be very tough on the people involved."

"Trust me," she snorted derisively, "they ain't half as tough as this one. Assumin' they actually like each other, they ain't gonna last with all the crap they got piled on 'em." It almost sounded like she was speaking from experience.

"Well we're going to meet with him right now to see if he's made any progress. Maybe I can offer some advice to them."

She looked like she was about to reply when she muttered a curse under her breath. "Yeah, whatever. I don't care. Sorry ta cut this short, but I got some things ta do. See ya!" She tossed the rest of the ice cream into her mouth and leapt effortlessly onto a nearby rooftop.

They watched in amazement as she leapt away. "If she can do that without transforming..." Ami gasped, unsure of how to best complete her thought.

"I... I refuse to look up to that girl... But damn was that awesome."

They continued to stare until a beeping from the Mercury Computer broke them out of their trance. Ami looked down at the notification with wide, nervous eyes. A ghoul had shown up in Nerima.

* * *

It's strange how someone can be having a perfectly pleasant day until something happens to turn it into a nightmare. For Akane, it was the unfortunate coincidence of being present for the arrival of a trio of demonic monsters. Not completely uncommon, except for the fact that these were more notable for their actions in Juuban. The monstrous, kill you indiscriminately kind, not the mostly harmless nuisance they usually got in the kooky ward she called home. They'd started to crowd around a frightened business man who'd been walking through the park, too scared out of his wits to run away, and if their sharp, drooling teeth were anything to go by, they didn't intend anything nice.

"Hey!" she screamed out, picking up a moderate sized rock and throwing it at the closest of the ghouls. "Why don't you pick on someone who can fight back?!" All three of them whipped around at the same time, allowing the man a quick moment to run off screaming. _Good,_ she thought, evening her breathing and shifting into a stance. Now she could focus on the fight. She got ready to charge when a shout halted her.

"Run away you idiot! Don't fight 'em!" A blur landed in front of her, red pigtail settling against the new arrival's neck as she cracked her knuckles. For a moment, her mind connected the braid to Ranma, until she realized that the girl in front of her was wearing Sailor Moon's uniform. Odd, she thought Sailor Moon was blonde.

"S-Sailor Moon?" It took her a brief moment to get over her stupor and address her normally. "I'm glad you're here. Now we can take these monsters out no problem."

"Ain't no 'we' here. This is too much for you. Get out of here, an' make sure ta keep everyone away from the fight zone. Just leave this one to me."

If the pigtail hadn't already set the connection, her attitude certainly reminded her of Ranma. She'd never have guessed Sailor Moon could be so... so rude. "Now just a second! I can fight too! This isn't the first time I've fought a monster!"

By now, the ghouls had gotten a little too close for comfort and were setting up their formation to trap them. Moon leapt toward the nearest one and started to pummel it with her fists. "Damn it Akane, now ain't the time to be such a stubborn, thick headed tomboy!" She leapt off that one and started in on the second. "These things'll kill ya! Now get outta here and make sure no idiots wander in!" She kicked off the second one and landed hard on the third one, cupping her hands together to throw an attack at the first one, juggling them in an effort to buy a little time. "Now! Moko Takabisha Revision: Moonlight Fang!"

She nodded mechanically and took off as fast as she could for the edge of the park. There was no mistaking it. Only one person she knew could be so full of himself and call her a thickheaded tomboy in the same moment, not to mention the attack she'd used. Somehow, Ranma was Sailor Moon. Somehow, that made her feel a little safer.

* * *

Claws dug into her shoulder, sending her tumbling to the ground and drawing blood. She was back on her feet instantly, relieved to see Akane far away and out of the danger zone. Now she could really cut loose. She pulled out her knife from weapons space and danced between the three, landing numerous small cuts that did little damage individually, but really added up.

One started to back away from the group. She kept her eye on it, but it was getting harder to continue dodging the swipes from the other two. She pulled off her tiara and tossed it at the one that had separated from the pack, cutting a shallow path across its left arm before being knocked to the ground. She'd been hoping that would take it out, but apparently, it was stronger than she'd expected. The others always seemed easier than this. Maybe because she'd always shown up in the middle of a fight before, but she didn't have the time to think about it. She briefly contemplated calling the others, but they were probably too far away to help her out. And since there were only three of them, she knew she'd have them down before they could arrive. That, and she doubted they'd enjoy a call from her, especially if it ended up being a false alarm.

She leapt onto the head of the nearest one and pushed off toward the next closest, delivering a powerful kick to its midsection. She attempted to hammer another blow into it when a heat wave caught her off guard and sent her knife flying from her hand as she was sent to the ground. The remaining ghoul was already in position to stab its claws into her, making a series of growls that sounded like laughter.

"Shine Aqua Illusion!"

"Sparkling Wide Pressure!"

The attacks combined, creating a single, powerful one that slammed into the ghoul looming over Moon and knocking it away, giving her a chance to hop to her feet and nod her head in greeting. "Didn't expect ya to be in town," she joked. "For a second, I thought I was gonna have all the fun."

"We ran into a girl who said you were fighting in here," Mercury explained, sort of. "She seemed a little shaken up, but she promised to keep bystanders away from the fight."

"Good." She leapt over to where her knife had fallen and scooped it up to stash back in its space, then she quickly moved to her fallen tiara and placed it back on her forehead. "Kijin Raishuu Dan!" The vacuum blades nicked the ghoul. Apparently, she hadn't dished out enough punishment yet, nor were they frail enough to be outright destroyed. Disappointing, but she could work with it.

"This park is a peaceful place to get a relaxing taste of nature in the middle of town," Jupiter stated as she struck a pose. "To bring chaos to this place is a deplorable act that I cannot forgive! In the name of Jupiter, you will be punished!" She rushed up to the nearest ghoul and hit it with a solid combo. It wasn't quite on the level that Moon was showing off, but it got the job done. Her fists hit cleanly, and her kick sent the ghoul staggering back. She didn't give it a chance to recover and continued to apply the pressure.

"Ya know," Moon quipped dryly as she dodged a heat wave, "I always thought them lame speeches were useless." Both Jupiter and Mercury shot her a glare, but she ignored it in favor of a complex combo that drove the ghoul back. "'Sides, this is almost normal." They didn't seem to believe her, but they focused on their own fights anyway.

While Mercury wasn't a physical fighter like the other two, her own standout skills put her in a unique position to help her fellow Senshi. She crossed her arms in front of her, gathering her magic for her oldest attack. "Shabon Freeze Spray!" The area was filled with a mist, cutting off the visibility of the ghouls while allowing both Jupiter and Moon to keep up what they were doing. That didn't mean she rested at that though. Despite the ghouls' magical resistance, she shot off a Mercury Aqua Rhapsody to keep the disoriented trio on their toes.

Jupiter was the first to score a takedown. All the damage had been adding up, and even though the ghoul had managed to land a hit on her, she still kicked it hard in the chest, caving in its ribs and knocking it flat on its back. She quickly followed that up with a stomp to the face which ended the creature. "That's one!" she called out gleefully.

"Good job!" Mercury called back.

Moon scoffed at having lost taking the first one down, but she pushed herself harder, bouncing from one to another before grabbing ahold of it and tossing it back at the other. "Moon Tiara Action!" The golden disc cut through both of them, but where one died, the other stayed on its feet. "Oh what the hell!"

The mist started to fade away, and the ghoul looked pissed. Its eyes set on Moon, and then it charged. Being the faster of the two, she easily avoided it, but it was pressing her, keeping her on her feet and on the defensive, waiting for it to make a mistake she could exploit. She would redirect the attacks when she could, but it was attacking her furiously, growling and grunting with each swipe.

It wasn't until Jupiter kicked it that she was allowed to breathe easier. Mercury hit it with a Shine Aqua Illusion, knocking it to the ground and freezing it in place, and Jupiter raised her hands, hitting it with a Sparkling Wide Pressure where Moon's tiara had cut through it. Even that didn't take it out though. Growling in frustration, Moon grabbed her knife and drove it into the ghoul's neck as hard as she could, finally killing it.

"So, uh, welcome to Nerima."

"Why didn't you call us?" Mercury chided her. "We could have helped you from the beginning."

"I didn't know you were in the area. Besides, I coulda taken 'em. I didn't need you two buttin' in on my fight." In her defensiveness, she was starting to fall into her typical habits. She knew they fought as a team. She put aside her ego to fight alongside them. But she was having just the crappiest day in a while now. And it all started this morning when Nabiki blew her off to 'take care of business' outside of the house. Like she didn't know what that was supposed to mean... Things hadn't really been getting any better, as it included a fight with Mousse that was started over a complete misconception about her actions as of late, among other things.

"This isn't some martial arts bout!" Jupiter snapped. "We fight together. The real Moon would know that."

Moon sighed, letting out the tension in one breath. She wasn't representing herself right now, and that meant she had to leave a good impression on her allies. "Yeah, I know. Sorry 'bout that, I've just been havin' a bad day." She waved halfheartedly and started to walk away. "Thanks for the help."

Mercury and Jupiter exchanged a worried glance and headed off to take care of their own business.

* * *

When she'd been informed the fight was finished, Akane raced home, unsure of how to handle the new information she'd learned. She had to talk to someone, but she wasn't sure she could trust Nabiki with it, and she wasn't sure if Kasumi would be able to help. There was no way she could talk to Ranma himself. Chances are, they'd just end up fighting about it, and that was no good.

Nabiki was unfortunately the first person she ran into, and her observant nature insured that she was all too easy to read. "What's up sis? You look like you saw a ghost."

_Maybe if I keep it vague..._ she conceded, unable to hold it in. She took a seat and picked up one of the chips her sister had been nibbling on. "Have you ever learned something _huge_ about someone you know? A friend even? Something so big that you're not actually sure what to do about it, and you're afraid that it's going to cause problems with that person?"

Nabiki stared at her blankly, only moving to eat a chip before settling back into a blank expression. It was starting to frustrate Akane, who was waiting for something, anything from her. "Aren't you going to say anything?! I mean, I guess it's a stupid question given that you're... you, but come on! You could answer!"

"Is this about Ranma?" her older sister finally asked, grabbing the remote to change the channel. When Akane clammed up, it was all the answer she needed. "You found out he's filling in for Sailor Moon, didn't you." It wasn't a question. She didn't even seem surprised by it.

Her mouth fell open in shock. "How the heck did you know that?!"

"Saw the idiot transform. Don't tell me he's still doing it where anyone can see it."

"What, no!" she stammered, trying to find the words and resigning herself to the fact that Nabiki already knew something so big. "Only that jerk would call me an idiot tomboy and throw off a variation on the Moko Takabisha! How is it _he_ of all people is Sailor Moon?"

Nabiki snorted, but before she could say anything, Ranma called out her return and soon entered the living room. "Akane knows you're Sailor Moon," she quipped ever so casually the moment she saw her.

"Damn it Nabiki! Why'dja tell her?!"

"Oh my," Kasumi said from the doorway to the kitchen, "Ranma is Sailor Moon? Is this true Ranma?"

The cursed martial artist fell to her hands and knees, realizing that all three Tendo girls were now in on her secret. Kasumi walked over to her and gently patted her on the back. "There there Ranma. I think it's great that you're a magical girl. Someone always finds out their secret identity sooner or later. Be glad that it's just us, and not your father. Or your mother. I don't think she'd find those outfits too manly." It did not put her at ease. In fact, it only made her feel worse, especially after finding out how Akane had learned of it.

"It's cool that I got to meet Mercury and Jupiter though. They seem cool. I'm a little jealous you get to fight alongside them."

Ranma was momentarily dumbfounded by her comment. Usually, jealousy meant pain. Lots of it. "Huh? Yeah, I guess. I mean, I ain't really gotten a chance to talk to any of 'em."

With a smirk, Nabiki rested her elbows on the table and leaned forward, lacing her fingers together for extra effect. "Well I got to talk to someone _very_ interesting today. I'm sure you know her Ranma. Does the name Usagi Tsukino ring a bell?"

"How the hell do you know that name?!" Ranma growled, feeling herself suddenly put at a horrible disadvantage.

She shook her head pitifully and let out an exaggerated sigh. "You practically gave it to me. How many newly admitted female teenage coma patients do you think were admitted to the hospital rescently."

Ranma grit her teeth. She had no ammunition to fight back. 'Doing the right thing' wasn't something Nabiki understood, but it was the only thing she had. "So what do ya plan to do? You just gonna sell her out for your big score?"

"There are plenty of people that would pay a fortune for information on any of the Senshi, Moon especially. The money I would make would leave me set for life. Hell, I'd sell you out in a heartbeat if you didn't live here, but the last thing I need is reporters camping out on the front lawn and monsters blowing up the house every week just to get to you." She sat there with a smug smile, torturing her with her words, making her squirm before she continued. "But no. I've decided there's a better way I can spin this. Not nearly as profitable but far more fun, and it still leaves other avenues open for later. She's your newest fiancée."

"What?!" Akane shouted in outrage. She was having trouble following their conversation, but all she really needed to hear was fiancée to find something she could understand. "Ranma, you pervert!"

Sometimes, Nabiki loved the work she did. Counting the airtime of the boy turned girl as she hung in the air following the brutal hit from her fiancée, she decided that now was one of those times.

* * *

The day started with a relatively peaceful calm. The last day of Golden Week before school was set to start. With all the crap he'd been through, Ranma figured he deserved a day of peace before returning to Kuno Hell. He was already running through plans to put a stop to whatever crazy scheme Principal Kuno would cook up.

He strolled downstairs with a rather upbeat attitude. Sure, Akane still hadn't apologized for beating the crap out of him yesterday after hearing Nabiki's lie, but he was so used to it, he almost didn't care. It did eventually come out that Usagi was Ranma's mystery Senshi benefactor, after Nabiki dragged some cash out of Akane, but by then, the damage was done.

After a quick spar with his father, he sat down for breakfast and enjoyed Kasumi's perfect cooking. He won the morning food combat ritual and ended up with more food than Genma by the end of the meal. Combined with Nabiki having promised to keep her trap shut about what she knew, not that he expected much from it, and a similar promise from Akane and Kasumi, all he really had to worry about was the usual ruckus in his life and those two girls that were looking for the brooch, but he wouldn't be around to deal with it. He was going to visit Usagi to check on her condition.

"Come on Ranma, I want to visit her too!" Akane begged. "I haven't gotten to meet her yet."

"You do know she's in a coma, right?"

"So? You said she can still hear, so I can still encourage her to get better soon. I fear what'll happen to the others with you in charge. And I don't trust you for a second to be alone with her."

He shot her a glare but let out a sigh and ran a hand through his bangs. She really wasn't going to let that whole 'she's your fiancée' thing go. "Fine, whatever. Geez, not even a week on the job and I already got three people figurin' out who she is..."

"Well to be fair, you didn't keep your curse secret for very long either. But don't worry about it. I won't tell anyone. I doubt even Sayuri and Yuka would believe it anyway."

Ranma grumbled under his breath and left the house, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "Hurry up, we still need ta buy some lunches ta eat later, unless you wanna eat hospital food."

Akane hurried after him, closing the door behind her and leaving through the gate, rather than over the wall like her fiancé. "You should have told me! I could have made something for you to eat."

The blood drained from his face as he thought of the horror she could have inflicted on him. "No thanks... I'd rather not be laid up in the next room gettin' my stomach pumped. An' if an enemy decides to attack, I sure as hell ain't gonna be much use if I'm pukin' up yer horrible cooking."

He was flat on his face the moment the words tumbled out of his mouth, her foot pressed right on his back in a hard stomp. "You jerk!" she angrily shouted. "You don't have to exaggerate that much! I've been getting better!" He crawled out of the Ranma shaped crater and continued to stroll down the street.

When they reached the station, they bought two tickets taking them to Juuban and a set of boxed lunches to eat later on. The trip was relatively quiet. Mostly chit chat, but nothing about Sailor Moon, either the original or the temp. There were far too many people around for them to get into that subject. Even so, they strangely didn't fight too much. They bickered occasionally, but it was nothing more than their usual bickering, and nobody even paid the couple any attention.

When the train arrived, the pair walked around Juuban for a while, taking in the sights. Akane was hesitant as she walked beside him, getting her bearings in the unfamiliar city. Finally she spoke.

"So I've been wondering... That brooch of Makoto's, did you really steal it from her?"

He snorted in amusement and reached into his weapons space for the transformation brooch. "You mean this one?" he asked her sarcastically, ignoring her look of surprise. "It ain't hers, and I ain't gonna let her get her hands on it."

She attempted to grab it from him, but he easily sidestepped her and slipped it back into the safety of his weapons space. "Ranma! You can't just claim it's yours for whatever reason! You have to give it back to her!"

"It ain't mine either," he replied bluntly. "I promised to take care of it. I ain't goin' back on that promise." A couple walked past them hand in hand. He watched them for a moment, a well-dressed blond man and his elegant aqua haired lady friend, feeling a strange familiarity from them, before continuing. "Come on. We still got some time before visiting hours start."

After looking around the town some more and eating an early lunch, they finally arrived at the hospital. Ranma had transformed into a girl by this point, as she usually did when she visited. Signing in quickly, Ranma led Akane to Usagi's room.

Of course the blonde was still asleep, however she was surprised to see a visitor sitting in the chair, talking with her animatedly. Naru looked up at the sound of the door and grinned. "Hey Ranko, good to see ya! Who's your friend?"

Akane was glaring at Ranma with a look that clearly said 'more girls?!' and 'what, another fiancée?' She hadn't been entirely happy to know she was palling around with the rest of the Senshi, let alone Sailor Moon, even if the leader of the team was in a coma at the moment. Ranma ignored the look and turned to the auburn haired girl with a pained smile. "Yeah, hey Naru. This is Akane Tendo, my cousin. Akane, this is Naru Osaka. She's a friend of Usagi."

The accidental stressing of friend and Usagi in an effort to get her fiancée to tone down her anger may have had an unintentional effect on her, as she dropped the attitude immediately, instead choosing to wear a wide eyed, awe struck expression. "It's nice to meet you Naru. I'm Akane."

She chuckled lightly, shooting Ranma a curious smile quickly, no doubt at the dark blue haired girl's strange turn around, before addressing Akane. "Nice ta meet you too. Guess this means our ice cream trip just got bigger."

"Huh?"

Naru explained the plan they'd arranged to take Usagi out for some ice cream when she woke up and invited her, as Ranko's cousin and a new friend, to join them. She was obviously conflicted between hanging out with someone she was engaged to and knew was a Senshi and someone she thought was one, and pounding Ranma's head in for making plans with another girl, but Naru appeared to take that as a confliction over whether to join or not.

"So how's she doin'?" Ranma asked, interrupting the moment to get to why she was really here.

"Pretty obvious, I guess." She nodded her head in Usagi's direction, her previous upbeat attitude gone with the change in topic. "No change, far as I know. Doctors aren't sure when she's gonna wake up."

The three of them observed the sleeping girl. None of them had a clue of how to help her, and Akane barely knew what was going on, possibly Naru too. Ranma still suspected she was one of the Senshi, despite not having any proof, but she couldn't place her to one of the others either. None of them were doctors. She'd look perfectly healthy if it weren't for the fact that she was in a hospital bed.

Naru shivered and looked away. "It sucks seein' her like this. I wish she'd just wake up already." She started to pace around the room slowly, venting her frustrations at the current situation forced on her best friend. She looked at Ranma a few times, but she never said anything. Finally, she took a deep breath and stopped. "I guess I should be goin' in case any of her other friends show up. I know a few of them were saying they probably would."

"Yeah," Akane sighed, "I'm sure she's got a lot of friends who want to see her." She bowed in respect for the blonde haired Senshi of the Moon. "Get better soon Usagi. Your friends are waiting for you."

Ranma smirked in her usual cocky manner. "Don't worry. I got this."

* * *

"So she finally got out of that phase of her life," Naru explained with a sigh. "I swear, if I heard her talk about how she was gonna date old guys for money once she got into high school one more time, I was gonna smack her."

"Sounds like your sister can be a hassle," Akane giggled. "I only have to worry about Nabiki selling pictures of me working out." Her expression fell suddenly as she thought about it more. "Though she does encourage Kuno..."

"Nah, she's a good kid. She just gets the weirdest ideas in her head. She's trying to be a magical girl now, but I don't think she realizes people don't just get magic and become Senshi. Maybe she should hang around you guys. She might see that being a martial artist is more obtainable."

Ranma swallowed a scoop of ice cream with a shrug. "Yeah, sure, whatever. I've been told I'm good with kids."

After they left the hospital, Naru had suggested that she show them around Juuban. Since they didn't really have a reason to turn her down, the two of them followed her and learned all about the town, including where she and Usagi went to school. This tour ended with the three of them at the Crown, where they played some arcade games before settling in to eat some ice cream. Naru learned firsthand just how powerful an opponent Ranma Saotome, or rather Ranko Tendo, could be when she wanted ice cream. Akane just called her shameless.

It had been surprising for them to learn just how long they'd been out. It was starting to get late, and the Nerima pair needed to be getting on the train soon. "I had fun today. We should really hang out again sometime soon."

A dull throb forced its way into Ranma's head. She nodded mechanically and stood up suddenly. "Yeah. That's a great idea. We gotta go Akane." She looked at her pointedly.

Akane's eyes widened, but she was quick on the uptake, nodding urgently. "Oh, yeah. You still have homework, don't you? I had a lot of fun too. See ya Naru!" Once they were out of the combined arcade and ice cream parlor, she pulled Ranma aside. "Now?" she hissed.

"Just get on the train and head home without me. I'll catch up."

"I'm not letting you fight alone!"

Feeling frustration at her defiance, Ranma shot her the most heated glare she could. "This one's _big_ 'Kane. It's that crow chick again. I can feel it. I ain't lettin' her get away again, and you can't be there. She got me an' the others fightin' each other just with an attack. She'd take you down in a second."

She growled under her breath, but her face eventually twisted into a look of resigned disappointment mixed with anger. "Fine! But I'm not going to wait up!" She stormed off towards the train station right as the communicator started to beep.

After making sure no one was watching, she leapt up to a nearby roof and transformed. "I'm comin'." Without waiting for a response or even looking to see who'd contacted her, she closed the connection and hid the communicator away.

Hopping across the rooftops, she found the other Senshi already in battle against a group of ghouls and something else. They were very bird-like, more so than even Nemain Catha herself. Despite their human-like faces, their bodies were only vaguely humanoid. Feathers covered their bodies and their legs were short and clawed, like the powerful talons of a bird of prey. Instead of arms, they had wings. And they were spitting wind attacks at the Senshi and using their aerial advantage to avoid any serious retaliation. She couldn't even begin to count how many of them there were.

And riding on the back of one of these bird creatures was Nemain, grinning like her usual self despite the missing wing. She hadn't involved herself, yet. Thankfully. But she really needed to learn not to gloat before the party really got started.

She gathered a few of her knives and threw them in rapid succession at the birds. They didn't appear to be as durable as their ghoulish cousins, since a single knife traveling at high speeds to the head was enough to end one before they realized what was going on. Three fell like this. Three in a sky full of them. "Hey ya old hag!" she shouted out, standing proudly atop a nearby building with a wide grin. "Miss me?"

She leapt up and out, kicking off the birds until she was right on top of Nemain. "Sailor Moon!" the bird woman hissed, leaping from her perch onto another one nearby just as Moon crushed its head. "You and your Senshi may have bested me last time, but I've come prepared this time. These harpies I've borrowed will be more than enough for you!"

The blasts of wind came in from several directions from the many harpies surrounding her in the air. Rather than leap up, she decided to let gravity take her and dropped to the ground where the Senshi were busy fighting with several ghouls that littered the street. With gritted teeth, she leapt toward the nearest one and started to pummel it.

Mars was having a hard time dodging, as was Mercury, but they did their best to avoid being surrounded. "Behind you!" Moon shouted, slamming into the nearest advancing ghoul to buy them some room.

She quickly turned around to see one preparing to launch a heat wave, but she was quicker on the draw, hitting it with a Burning Mandala and backing away. "Thanks." It was reluctant, but she had to admit it helped her out.

"Aim for the harpies!" Mercury suggested. "Moon, can you handle the ghouls?"

"Pfft, you don't know who yer talkin' to, do ya." She leapt on top of one and pulled out a katana. "Fat, slow, and ugly," she taunted, kicking another in the face and slashing at it with the katana. "Not a whole lot goin' for ya."

Most of the pack of ghouls took the bait, leaving Mars and Mercury mostly free to snipe at the harpies from the ground. Moon bounced along the battlefield, snapping off light attacks at any enemy she passed, before coming up to Venus, the next Senshi she spotted. "Hey Venus, got a little present for ya!" She tossed the katana into the air and immediately reversed course to bring the fight back to the ghouls.

She caught it instinctively and sized it up. Nice balance, not too heavy, looked sharp. She grinned and swung it at the nearest ghoul. "Yeah, I can use this. Thanks!" She ducked uner its claws and struck again.

With the sword in one hand, she would counter with her chain for an effective one two punch. While she wasn't as fast as Moon, she was able to hold off the two ghouls that were her opponents.

Jupiter had found that her lightning worked great on the harpies. The problem was, there were so many of them that it seemed like every one she took down, two retaliated with gusts of wind that forced her on the run. It was getting harder for her to attack with the way the wind was raining down on her. More than a few times, she'd been caught by the edge of one of these attacks and stumbled before regaining her ground. It was getting frustrating.

"Deep Submerge!" The pressurized blast of water whizzed past her, slamming into one of the harpies attacking her and sending it to the ground where it died. She nodded her head gratefully to Neptune for the help and called on her lightning once more.

"Sparkling Wide Pressure!"

Uranus and Saturn fought side by side, fighting off three more ghouls. Between the Space Sword and the Silence Glaive, they were scoring plenty of hits, but the monsters just wouldn't go down. Unfortunately, they were too tightly packed into the street with their allies too spread out on all parts of the battlefield for either of them to really let loose. Still, they were faring better than others.

That left Pluto, who was doing her best to help out where needed. She was handling a little bit of everything, from attacking the harpies to helping hold off the ghoul that was still pestering Mars and Mercury, even taking pot shots at Nemain when she could. But she could see that it was only a matter of time before they were worn down if they kept at this pace. The harpies were doing a good job of covering the backs of the ghouls, and there were so many of them.

With a heavy slash of the glaive, Saturn finally tore down one of the ghouls. Unfortunately, she couldn't take a moment to catch her breath and was forced to leap forward to keep from getting hit by one that had slipped around behind her.

Seeing Uranus take a big hit, she jumped in front of the blonde and summoned her Silence Wall to protect them both from the pair of heat waves. This left her back open to a grinning Nemain.

The one winged crow woman raised her hand as it filled with a blood red orb of energy. It pulsed and grew, gaining more power until she was satisfied with it. "Harbinger of Downfall!" she called, sending the large orb of magic streaking down to hit the unprotected Saturn's back and send the youngest Senshi tumbling toward the ghouls.

"Saturn!" Uranus screamed, a rage building in her that she really wanted to take out on the one that had attacked her adopted daughter, but she forced herself to focus first on the ghouls that were preparing to pounce. "World Shaking!"

The attack knocked both of them off guard, and she wasted no time in cutting both of them down, using her anger to drive her. She knelt beside her immediately and checked her over. She was still alive, thankfully, and barely conscious, but she wouldn't be helping out in this battle anymore. "Neptune!" Her lover was beside her in an instant, watching her back while shie lifted the young girl up. "Get her someplace safe." She pressed the delirious young girl into the aqua haired Senshi's arms, then handed her the Silence Glaive, and turned her attention to the battle.

The two had a very good understanding of each other, and Neptune knew she couldn't talk her out of what she was going to do. All she could do was offer her words of encouragement. "Be careful."

Uranus smiled grimly. "I'm not going to stop until I pay her back for that. Leave this to me." And then she was off, looking for the best way to get her hands around Nemain's throat.

Moon bounced between the three ghouls she was fighting like a pinball that just wouldn't drop. Not once did she touch the ground, nor did she take a hit, surprisingly. "Hey ya old hag!" she called out to Nemain, well aware of what she'd done to Saturn. "Betcher pissed about what I did to yer wing!"

Nemain let out a primal growl and focused her attention on the redheaded replacement Senshi of the Moon. "I'm far stronger than I was last time Sailor Moon! The crystal of power I was given has granted me immense strength! I will see you dead! Death Curse!" She drew a mass of magic in and launched it at Moon's back as she jumped from one ghoul's head to another. Rather than hit her target though, the slippery redhead leapt away from them and rolled to a stop.

"Ooh, that's gotta suck," she chirped, watching as Nemain's attack obliterated all three of her own ghouls. Idly, she decided that if it could do _that_ to the ghouls, she didn't want to get hit by it before cupping her hands together. "Moonlight Fang!"

The unexpected blue and white orb slammed into the harpy holding Nemain aloft, exploding on impact and sending the one winged crow woman to the ground. She dug her claws into the pavement and pulled herself up. "Mooooooon! I will tear you to piecessssss!"

_She's bleedin' magic from how pissed she is,_ Moon observed. _If I can keep her off balance, I might be able to get a good hit in and take her down before this drags on._ "Gotta catch me first!" She pulled down an eyelid and stuck out her tongue childishly. "Blaaaaaah!"

Rather than head for her directly, she decided not to stick around and took off toward Mars and Mercury, who were busy fending off their ghoul. "Comin' through!" she called out, slamming into it and sending both of them to the ground. She was quicker to her feet, and she used that to drive her knife into the ghoul. Her allies had already backed away, and Mars was back to hunting harpies.

"Moon, look out!" Before she could realize what had happened, Mercury shoved her out of the way, taking the hit that Nemain had thrown recklessly in an attempt to hit Moon.

"Damn it! You okay Mercury?" The blue haired Senshi of Mercury coughed but didn't seem to be able to climb to her feet at the moment. "That's it..." she murmured, climbing to her feet and cracking her knuckles. "That's how you want it? That's how you'll get it."

"Common Stri-"

She took off suddenly, using the extra momentum to slam her fist into Nemain's gut and cut off the attack she was preparing. The crow woman's eyes remained wide in surprise and pain from the attack she barely saw coming. Another hit pummeled her. And then another. A fist solidly caught her chin, and then a foot slammed into her shoulder. She barely managed to signal the harpies to help her.

The wind attacks forced Moon to give her some distance, and she decided she really needed to take out some more of those damn bird things. "Thought I got enough bird people with the Phoenix tribe... Moon Tiara Action!" She whipped the tiara off in one direction and hopped into the air, using whatever foothold she could to bring the fight to the harpies. None of them had expected the move, and the tiara took out two of them, while Moon herself started to pound on them in midair.

Nemain had seen just what the Senshi were capable of for herself in their last fight. Three more of them aside from Moon could effectively take down the remaining two ghouls. She had nothing to smile about as she waved her hands in the air intricately, calling on the magic for her next spell. "Nightmare Waltz!"

Jupiter fell to the ground when the attack hit, clutching her head in pain. Visions only she could see tormented her. Visions of her mother and father, forced to relive their deaths several times over, worse and worse every time. Her friends left her, or worse, died right in front of her. Her greatest fears played out before her, and there was nothing she could do to stop it.

Pluto pulled her aside, setting her near Mercury to give the pair a chance to rest up, and maybe give Jupiter a moment to settle down from the visions the attack had inflicted on her. She took stock of the battlefield. Neptune still hadn't returned, and she wished she'd return soon, not that she expected the Outer Senshi to make much of a difference. Uranus and Mars were striking at the harpies that Moon was graciously keeping still while the pigtailed girl used them as stepping stones, and Venus...

Venus wasn't going to take it sitting down. Breaking away from the ghouls, she ran straight for Nemain, hoping to keep her busy before she could strike at another of them the same way she had been doing. She lashed out with her chain, hoping to hold her down while she struck with the sword Moon had given her.

It looked like Nemain was the type to falter under direct pressure, as Moon had established earlier, but after a few good hits, she countered Venus's strike and released an attack at point blank range. "Harbinger of Downfall!" While it lacked the strength that the one that had knocked Saturn out had, it was powerful enough to send her to the ground, gasping for breath and fighting to stand.

Moon grit her teeth as she saw Venus go down. They were dropping like flies. Letting loose several vacuum blades using the Kijin-Gun Dai Ranbu, she dive bombed Nemain as she advanced on the fallen Venus. "Not on my watch ya won't!" Her feet slammed into the back of Nemain's head and rolled forward, using her momentum to scoop up Venus and sprint to where Mercury and Jupiter were out of the way and resting.

If Nemain was angry before, constantly seeing Moon ruin her plans had her seeing red. She raised her hands, gathering energy in them while everyone was busy. Yes, she would end them all, especially Moon. She would crush her skull under her talons. But she aimed her next attack at Mars. First, she would demoralize her, make her beg for death as her friends died around her. "Death Curse!"

Moon's eyes widened as she heard the words. Dropping Venus unceremoniously on the ground, she put everything she had into beating out the attack. She'd promised Usagi she'd protect them, and so far, she felt like she was doing a pretty piss poor job at it. One foot in front of the other, magic and ki both powering her movements, she just barely beat out the attack just as Mars realized what was happening. With all her might, she shoved the Senshi in red out of the way, taking the full force of the attack herself.

She hit the ground hard, rolling down the broken street before finally coming to stop by running into the back of a destroyed car. It took several seconds for the ringing in her ears to stop. When it did, she heard the surprised gasps of the Senshi and the mad cackling of Nemain.

Mars was beside her the moment she regained footing, surprised that Moon had gone out of the way for her, even taking a very powerful attack to save her. "Why did you do that?!" She couldn't comprehend it. Moon had no reason to sacrifice herself for any of them, especially after Mercury had done the same thing for her.

Moon coughed, feeling short of breath and full of pain, but nothing she hadn't dealt with before. She climbed slowly to her feet with the assistance of Mars. She hadn't quite heard her question, instead taking a moment to grin at the shocked anger that Nemain radiated. Uranus was keeping her busy at the moment, but she would have to work fast.

Her left arm hung limply at her side, broken from taking the brunt of the attack, possibly dislocated too. With a bit of effort, she tore off the ribbon on her back and unraveled it. "What are you doing?" Mars asked her as if she were insane.

"I got an idea," she coughed, working hard to regain her breath, "an' I only need one arm to do it. Thing is, I need to do it alone. The rest of you guys need to pull back."

Mars' face contorted in anger. "Like hell!" she growled. "You'll get killed if you go in there, especially alone."

There was a chill in the air as Moon worked to tie the ribbon into a makeshift sling. She seemed almost emotionless when she finally tied it off. "It's my strongest attack, and it's the sort a thing that don't discriminate between friend an' foe. Especially if they're spittin' out heat like you an' Uranus are. I can do this, but I gotta do this alone. No buts." She rearranged the ribbon so that it was a bit more comfortable and closed her eyes, feeling the power inside her as she took a deep breath. "Yo ugly! Was that supposed ta hurt?" Like a rocket, she was off.

She wasn't sure if she was making the right choice, but Mars swallowed the lump in her throat. Moon had taken that hit for her. If she was so adamant about doing this herself, she would give her the chance. "Uranus, Pluto! Fall back! Moon is going in alone!"

Pluto complied instantly, backing away from the battle and taking shots at the remaining harpies. Uranus wasn't very happy about that, especially when the bandaged up Moon started dancing around her and Nemain, throwing out insults like it was going out of style. "Why the hell should I?! This is as much my fight as it is hers!"

Attacks of all sorts raged around her, but none hit their mark. "Too slow! Man, I think a snail could dodge that!"

"She's planning some sort of attack! I have no idea what it is, but she says it's dangerous! Now get out of there Uranus!"

With a snort, Uranus swung her sword at Nemain, ignoring Mars completely. "Uranus, you'll withdraw at once," Pluto ordered. She looked back in shock, but she complied with her fellow Outer Senshi, leaping away and letting Moon handle it, however it was she planned to handle it by dodging in circles.

Moon let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding when she saw Uranus join the others. She'd only have one shot at this, and she had to make it count. She had two ghouls and the remaining harpies that she'd need to take with Nemain. She allowed herself to fall deeper into the Soul of Ice. Cool, calm, collected. She'd gotten good at throwing around insults without allowing any emotion to taint her aura.

"Stand still you little worm!" Nemain was spewing out heat like a volcano. Every attack she launched missed, be it by a little or a lot. She was having trouble keeping up, and every time, Moon had some snappy comeback.

"Missed me, missed me, nyaaaaa!"

"Grrr!"

"Oh, I think I felt a breeze."

"Harpies! Ghouls! Attack her!"

"Yawn. This is gettin' boring. Can I change the channel?"

The Senshi weren't sure what she was hoping to accomplish by dodging, but she was cutting her circle tighter and tighter, like a spiral. Neither were they sure what she hoped to accomplish by pissing Nemain off so much that she was literally shaking with fury.

"Remember when ya said a worm like me couldn't hurt ya? Your missing wing begs ta differ." That comment outdid all of them, causing her anger to flow off her in waves, visible to the naked, untrained eye.

Moon came to a stop with her back to the Senshi, standing right in front of Nemain while the crow woman tried to slice her to ribbons with her claws. She crouched down, curling her hand into a tight fist and then pouncing. "Hiryu Shoten Ha!" With a small twist of the wrist, the uppercut connected. For a second, nothing happened, leaving the Senshi wondering if she'd been bluffing. And then, all hell broke loose.

The vortex came first, pulling Nemain and the ghouls into the air and dragging the harpies into the maelstrom of winds. Almost instantly after that, the entire thing exploded. The concussive force was enough to blow out every window on the block.

Moon was violently thrown back by the unexpected reaction, her uniform tattered and her skirt nearly gone from the explosion. A single thud followed that sometime later when the vortex finally went out as Nemain hit the ground hard, unable to get back up. Moon remained face down on the smashed concrete for a moment before slowly pulling herself up onto a single hand and her knees. Her vision swam, darkening at the edges as she coughed out a laugh. The skies were clear of harpies and the remaining ghouls had been dusted. "Forgot magic and ki blew up when mixed," she coughed out jokingly.

She watched as Uranus approached Nemain confidently. Mars was asking her just what the hell she'd done, but she was too preoccupied to answer. She hurt all over, and she was surprised she hadn't shattered her arm completely from the aftermath. Her vision got darker until all she could see was Uranus pointing her sword at Nemain's throat. She was saying something, but she couldn't quite make it out. When Uranus unleashed an attack point blank, she knew it was over.

"If ya don't mind," she coughed, "I think I'm gonna pass out now." And then she pitched forward, her vision going black.


End file.
